Fate's Will
by mizu
Summary: ehh...was feeling extremely evil when I wrote this... ^^;;
1. Default Chapter

Hello, Mizu here, again! This is one of those   
single fanfics, however, I may turn it into a   
series/epic or something of a sort, depending on   
the feedback (if any…) I receive. Bear in mind,   
this is a Usagi/Mamoru fanfic and they don't   
know each other's *true* identities yet.   
However, Mamoru knows that he is Tuxedo Kamen   
and Usagi, Sailor Moon (including all the inner   
scouts…) Anyway, just a note:  
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to the talented   
Naoko Takeuchi. I don't own it.  
  
Comments/Flames accepted. If it is a flame,   
please tell me where I went wrong so I can   
correct it next time, if I can…  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
Fate's Will:  
  
Night came upon Tokyo that day rather   
quickly, or at least it did, in the opinion of   
Chiba Mamoru. He had been pounding on the   
computer for the last seven hours, without   
pausing for a break. His eyes were sore from   
staring at the blaring light from the computer   
monitor and his fingers were raw from typing.   
Equations and logic problems had been drifting   
in and out of his head, each solution taking him   
one step closer in completing his project.  
Upon arriving home to his sterile   
apartment, he took his routine meal of Ramen   
noodles and immediately *plopped* into bed—in   
the literal sense. He erased all thoughts of   
logic questions from his mind and drifted slowly   
into a peaceful sleep.   
Although, there was one, single recurring   
dream that kept visiting him every night. It   
wasn't so much that he hated it, it was just   
that the dream was a complete mystery that he   
could never hope to uncover.  
"My Prince…" A longing, nostalgic voice   
cried into the shadows. Mamoru was yet again,   
dressed in his Tuxedo Kamen suit. Stormy   
sapphire eyes stared at a woman who stood high   
above in a balcony. Ornate runes decorated the   
building before him and the entire place itself   
seemed to emit a natural, silver glow.  
"Tell me your name!" Tuxedo Kamen yelled   
into the fog. "Tell me who you are!"   
"My Prince, you must free me! You must   
free me!" Begged the chiming voice. Her hands   
were clasped in front of her gown tightly as she   
called to her prince to rescue her.  
"Tell me who you are!" Tuxedo Kamen   
yelled yet again, reaching a white-gloved hand   
toward the woman. The woman began to fade. He   
was quickly growing further and further away   
from this woman. Suddenly, the mists began to   
shroud about him as it grew thicker and thicker.   
Her form was being engulfed by the mists as   
Tuxedo Kamen reached for her again with his   
hand.  
"Save me…"  
***  
Mamoru woke up with a start, body soaked   
in sweat. His hands clung to the linen bed   
sheets, his knuckles were an icy white. His   
breathing was haggard and his eyes were wide.   
Taking a few more extra gulps of air, he calmed   
down. Turning to his open window, the moon   
caught his stormy blue eyes.   
  
***  
Tsukino Usagi hung her head in   
disappointment. She really did study—or at   
least, she tried to. Actually, come to think of   
it, Ami tried to make her study harder.   
Although, the fruits of Ami's labor only   
produced Usagi with another failing test paper.   
She stared at the test paper…  
In giant, red block letters that Haruna-  
sensei was so accustomed to, 30 was written on   
the page. 'It seems so…*bright*' Usagi thought,   
squinting at the horrible marking. Quickly, she   
crinkled up the sheet and threw it into the   
garbage basket as she passed by the bus stop.   
Sighing, she left for the Hikawa Shrine.  
  
***  
  
"Usagi, late, AGAIN!" Cried the obviously   
fuming Rei. Her face was a bright, cherry-  
tomato red, framed with the usual raven-black   
hair. Usagi smiled impishly.  
"You sound like Haruna-sensei, Rei." Rei   
frowned. She didn't expect *that* comment.   
Nevertheless, he voice rose higher in a   
crescendo.  
"I SOUND LIKE WHO?!"   
Usagi began to laugh nervously, her hand   
scratching the back of her head.   
Ami had the sense to stop the insanity   
before it went any further. However, her words   
were only effective with Makoto standing behind   
her. Meekly, Rei and Usagi stopped their   
childish bickering and sat down on the floor by   
the table.   
"Lately, a few odd things have occurred…"   
Ami began with her natural tone of   
professionalism.   
"Such as?" Inquired the curious Minako.   
Artemis and Luna purred happily as Minako   
absentmindedly scratched his ears with one had   
and Luna the other.   
"Well, I can't classify them as dark   
kingdom attacks, but…" Ami began to type   
vigorously on her compact, blue computer.   
"Well, their readings are not quite evil,   
but they not good either. I know that it could   
be anyone. However, there are certain   
characteristics about them that we should be on   
the alert for," continued Makoto.  
"For one, they're not human," Ami began   
matter-of-factly. "Number two, wherever they   
go, a small draining of energy goes with them—"  
"Then they're evil! We'll just bash their   
heads and dust them!" Usagi interrupted   
triumphantly, raising her arm mid-air.   
Although, her victory was temporarily countered   
by Rei.  
"No, Odango Atama! Let Ami-chan finish   
first!" Rei said sharply, as if disciplining a   
little child. She was rewarded with a glare   
from Usagi.  
"Anyway," Ami said, ignoring the ongoing   
conflict between the two. "Since they don't   
have any dark energy signatures, we can't be   
sure… For all we know, it can be just a   
coincidence. There isn't very strong evidence   
to uphold the theory that they are evil and that   
they are causing these small energy drainings."   
She turned back at the arguing pair and   
sweatdropped. The two of them had reverted to   
sticking their tongues at each other.   
Minako, who just had a moment of   
inspiration, suddenly rose up, hurling two very   
surprised furballs into the air. Both hit the   
ground with a loud *thud*. "Any evil, we will   
triumph! Right scouts?" Minako said brightly   
and enthusiastically. "Now, who's in for some   
ice cream?"  
"Some things will never change, ne?"   
Makoto asked, putting a hand on Ami's shoulder   
and sweatdropping also. They inched toward the   
temple doorway, trying to get away from the   
gigantic cloud of Usagi and Rei fighting and the   
sparkly-eyed Minako.   
  
***  
  
Usagi walked around the corner, thinking   
about the fight that Rei and she just had.   
Turning around a corner, she collided into   
something—or rather, someone…  
*THUD*   
"Hey Odango Atama, watch where you're   
going!" A very irate Mamoru said, rubbing his   
sore arm gingerly. He looked down into   
sparkling blue eyes.  
"Gee, why don't you watch where *YOU'RE*   
going, Mamoru-san!" She couldn't help it. He   
was being such a, such a…baka! Although, even   
as a baka, she couldn't help but admire his   
strong, muscular arms, his midnight black hair   
which framed his handsome face and his deep,   
stormy blue eyes…Wait a minute! What was she   
doing? Shaking herself from her imagination,   
she shrugged off all her thoughts and turned to   
face Mamoru-san with hard, blue eyes.   
"Are you actually that clumsy? Or are you   
just faking it? I can't see anyone that can be   
as clumsy as you…" Mamoru-san teased with a   
smirk.  
"Clumsy?!" Usagi's voice had raised a few   
octaves. She raised a hand to slap him…however,   
she had underestimated his reflexes and he   
caught her hand within inches from his face.   
"I don't know *WHY* you torment me! Don't   
you have something better to do than to waste my   
time, *Mamoru-san*?" She stressed his name out   
in the most sarcastic tone that she could muster   
in her rage.   
"Ouch, Odango Atama. That was harsh.   
But, I really do need to go." With that,   
Mamoru-san left toward the opposite direction.   
There was something about that girl that felt   
familiar to him…  
"He makes me sooo mad!" Usagi cried,   
before stomping away. However, in her mind, she   
thought wistfully, 'Oh Mamoru, when will you   
ever change?'  
  
***  
Mamoru woke up with abruptly, hands   
clenching the sheets again. He had had that   
dream again, the dream where his 'princess'   
begged him repeatedly to save her. Although, he   
was helpless to save her and again, he watched   
her disappear into the fog. He hated not being   
able to save someone.  
Feeling that he wouldn't be able to sleep   
without having the dream again. He pulled on a   
shirt and changed into a serviceable pair of   
pants. Grabbing his keys, he left his   
apartment.   
It was still night. He guessed it would   
be late evening or so. After walking for   
fifteen minutes or so, he reached the park.   
There, he spotted a lone figure sitting in the   
park bench—a place where he would occasionally   
come and just stare at the lake. He approached   
the figure.   
"May I sit down here?" He asked gently.   
The figure turned, revealing a very beautiful   
face framed with golden blond hair and complete   
with a pair of chocolate brown eyes. She nodded   
at him, after staring at him for long moments.  
Mamoru took his seat. For a few moments,   
both of them simply stared out into the lake.   
There seemed to be twin moons, one up in the sky   
and it's reflection in the lake. Although, both   
looked almost the same. 'But the one on the   
lake is closer…" Mamoru commented to himself.   
The evening air was fragrant with spring blooms,   
but, according to him, the most fragrant of   
those blooms were his roses. The reflection on   
the lake danced on the ripples.  
"I'm Ryoko," She said softly, introducing   
herself. She extended a hand at Mamoru.  
"Chiba Mamoru," Mamoru replied, extending   
his hand as well. "I've never seen you around   
here before," Mamoru said casually, attempting   
to make conversation. Ryoko smiled. It was a   
beautiful smile.   
"I just transferred to Takumashii   
University. I've heard that they have great   
courses there."  
Ryoko had that wistful tone of voice that lulled   
Mamoru into a sort of hypnotism.  
"Wait, you're going to Takumashii? I go   
there too!" Mamoru said friendly.   
"You could show me around then…" Ryoko   
responded cheerfully. Looking down at her   
watch, she rose from her seat on the park bench.   
"It's getting too late. I just came out here   
for a break. I was actually in the middle of   
some work."   
Mamoru rose with her, offering his arm as   
a gesture of friendship.   
"Would you like me to walk you home? It's   
late and it could be dangerous."   
Ryoko smiled at him again, the same smile   
that made her look so beautiful…  
"That would be wonderful," Ryoko replied,   
taking his arm. "…my prince."   
At those last two words that she had   
addressed him by, he froze.   
"What's the matter?" Ryoko asked   
concerned. "Is there something wrong?" Mamoru   
stared at her again. He hadn't noticed how the   
moonlight bathed her golden blond hair and how   
her brown eyes looked so clear. A gentle breeze   
brushed passed them as they left the park, arm   
in arm.  
  
On a rooftop somewhere, two violet eyes   
stared at the pair that had just walked out of   
the park. She glared at the two, shocked.   
Although she was more shocked at the tall,   
black-haired male.   
She knew how Usagi truly felt about   
Mamoru-san. She just hoped that this news   
wouldn't leave her friend's heart in shattered   
pieces when she told her.  
  
***  
  
Rei decided to inform Usagi when she came   
to the shrine after school. She figured that if   
she broke the news to her gently, it might buff   
the shock waves a little. Also, she would be   
there if Usagi needed a shoulder to cry on. She   
remembered the times when Usagi would stomp into   
the shrine immediately after bumping into Mamoru   
and began to put him in the worst light   
possible. However, at the end, her anger with   
Mamoru would be forgotten and she would end up   
talking about how handsome he was. The girl   
absolutely would swoon over Mamoru. However,   
Rei had to admit, Mamoru was quite handsome.   
Rei had already deduced that Usagi was in love   
with Mamoru. How was she going to tell her best   
friend that the man she loved was interested in   
another woman? She watched the clock go by on   
the wall, waiting for the final bell to ring and   
waiting to break her best friend's heart with   
the news.  
  
***  
  
Usagi skipped cheerfully down the garden   
paths. Passing by the rose gardens, she stopped   
briefly to drink in the bright sunshine and   
smell the roses. With one gentle finger, she   
brushed a rose petal with a feather-light touch.   
The groundskeeper was a good, kind gentleman and   
cut a single rose for Usagi. Usagi smiled   
brightly at the elderly man and skipped off,   
happier than she was before.   
She was on her way to Hikawa shrine. Rei   
said she wanted to talk to her about something.   
"I hope it isn't another fight," Usagi   
murmured to herself. She continued skipping,   
not allowing anything to disrupt her happy   
thoughts.  
Within moments, she had reached the Crown   
arcade. She figured that she might as well grab   
a quick chocolate milkshake before visiting Rei.   
Motoki, who was at his usual post behind   
the counter, caught a glimpse of Usagi and   
waved.  
"Hi Usagi! What will it be today?   
Another Chocolate milkshake?"   
"Motoki, you read my mind! One to go   
though. Need to visit Rei before she scolds me   
for being late, *again*." Usagi slumped into a   
padded stool, while Motoki turned to prepare her   
drink. She stared down at the spotless counter   
that Motoki was just polishing prior to her   
arrival.   
Minutes later, the bell that was fixed on   
the arcade door rang, it's chime resounding   
through the loud room. Shaken from her trance,   
Usagi looked automatically to the entrance of   
the arcade.   
Pushing the glass door open, Mamoru opened   
the door for a young, but beautiful, lady. In   
the most ladylike way possible, she walked into   
the loud and boisterous room. Usagi stared as   
Mamoru guided the woman into a cubicle.   
'Maybe it's just a friend of his,' Usagi   
thought, trying to be optimistic about the   
situation. Although, Mamoru's next actions made   
her dismiss her idea immediately.  
The blond girl laughed musically. She was   
older, more refined and more sophisticated.   
'Mamoru's type…' Usagi thought. Mamoru leaned   
forward in the cubicle as much as he could.   
Slowly, the space between he and the mysterious   
blond girl closed and their lips came in   
contact. They stayed like that for many   
moments.   
A flood of emotions filled Usagi, however,   
the most prominent was sadness. Leaving money   
on the counter for the milkshake, she retreated   
out the arcade door.   
Mamoru peaked from the corner of his eye,   
but all he saw was a flurry of blue, white and   
gold.   
  
***  
  
Usagi ran quickly, past numerous shops and   
parks. Reaching an alley, she ran within and   
raised her hand into the air.  
"Moon Crystal Power!" She cried as she   
transformed into Sailor Moon. She felt that she   
could cover more distance in her transformed   
state. She could cover more distance away from   
Mamoru and her past.  
She leaped on buildings with agility.   
Although, tears were still streaming down her   
porcelain face. The tears distorted her vision,   
but she didn't care. All she could think of was   
that she never did have a chance with Mamoru.   
She clenched her fist, forgetting that the   
rose that she had received from the kind   
groundskeeper was still in her grasp. The   
thorns pricked her, but she didn't care. She   
released the rose from her grasp and allowed it   
to fall to the ground.   
As she continued to run, velvety soft   
petals drifted softly to the ground, unnoticed   
by anyone.  
  
***  
  
How did you like it? Anyway, if you're angry   
about the whole Mamoru and Ryoko thingy, calm   
down, cause' I'll write something that'll meet   
all you Mamoru-Usagi fan's expectations.   
(Hahaha! It's either Mamoru-Usagi or no way at   
all!)  
  
*Scutter throws a tomato toward Mizu*  
Mizu: Not again…*dodges tomato*  
Scutter: hmm…must get more veggies…   
  
Oh, the name Takumashii University? I made it   
up. (That's for Sab!--nevermind…)  
  
Anyway, read Scutter's fics, they're really   
good! Sending comments or flames? Remember, if   
it's flames, please tell me what I did wrong so   
I can fix it next time, if I can.   
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com   
  



	2. Chapter 1 - Vintage Violet

Thanks to those who e-mailed me! I'm sorry to   
have left the story off like that, but I just   
wanted to try a twist ending for once.   
Fate's Will will span for about 6-10 chapters or   
so, depending on how fast the plot will go.   
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko   
Takeuchi. I don't own it.  
  
Comments, Flames? E-mail to:  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
Minna! Remember, constructive flames please!   
(if you are sending flames.) I'll change   
whatever I've done wrong, if I can.   
  
Fate's Will:  
Chapter 1: Vintage Violets  
  
The sun peaked out from the edge of the   
horizon, spilling it's glorious rays into the   
clear blue sky. The sky blushed orange and red   
while the birds began to chirp noisily amidst   
their morning songs.   
One house stood on a quiet street. It's   
foundation was solid and steadfast. Sunlight   
slowly made it's way through the translucent   
drapes on the second floor. A fragrant breeze   
blew apart the curtains and entered into a small   
room decorated with blush pink and white   
furniture. Within, housed a golden sleeping   
beauty, still slumbering away as the hours   
passed by. The warmth of the sunlight bathed   
her as the gentle rise and fall of her chest   
continued on peacefully.   
A few cars whizzed by the house, and the   
sound of civilization awakening began to fill   
the city once more.   
Awakened by the sound of her mother's   
voice, Usagi cracked open a sapphire eye. It   
was the weekend, which meant that Usagi didn't   
have to get up until the afternoon anyway.   
However, it was now noon and noticing that she   
couldn't sleep, she decided to get up anyway   
before her breakfast got any colder.   
Bracing her hand on her pillow, she   
hoisted herself up with difficulty. Her hand   
felt dampness on the pillow. Although the stain   
could not be seen, it still felt very wet to   
her. Thinking back, she remembered what had   
happened.  
  
She was so happy yesterday. Rei had   
called her to talk to her about something, but   
she didn't know what. Then, she saw Mamoru...   
Mamoru with a girl. Mamoru holding a door open   
for a girl. Mamoru sitting down in a cubicle   
with the girl. Mamoru kissing the girl. A very   
pretty girl-  
  
She gasped and tears threatened to fall   
down her porcelain face once more. Covering her   
mouth in disbelief, she shook her head. What   
*had* happened yesterday? Recalling all the   
events in a mechanical way, she stopped at the   
last two phrases.   
  
...Mamoru kissing the girl. A very pretty   
girl...  
  
"No!" she managed to squeak before she   
clamped her mouth shut again. This time, she   
did begin to cry. Crystal tears refracted the   
light from outdoors. Salt tears rolled down her   
cheeks and onto her hands where she clamped them   
over her mouth. Gradually, the tears had   
dampened her entire hand, causing a slight   
stinging sensation. She didn't care. All she   
knew was that the man that she loved was out of   
her grasp. He went for someone more pretty,   
more intelligent, more sophisticated, more...  
On and on, Usagi pushed herself lower and   
lower into the depths of despair and depression.   
Her head began to droop lower and lower as if   
she were losing all the life and vitality in   
her.   
"Usagi! Wake up! Breakfast is ready for   
you!" Cried the cheerful voice of her mother.   
In reaction, Usagi's head snapped up   
immediately. She was just a little *too*   
sensitive at the moment to anything, which   
included sound.   
Glancing forward on her shelf, a small   
object caught her tear-shedding eyes. The   
sunlight shined on the glass object, causing a   
reflection to shine into her eyes. Wincing a   
little, she slowly rose up from her bed linens   
and approached the object. She reached out a   
hand a gingerly lifted the object from it's spot   
on the shelf. Usagi stared at the object. It   
was a bottle of neatly folded stars that Makoto   
had made for her. Makoto knew that Usagi had a   
liking for little trinkets like these so, she   
went to the mall and bought some implements.   
When she arrived home, she spent hours learning   
how to fold these little puffed-up stars and   
made Usagi a bottle of her own.   
"They're for luck," Makoto had said when   
Usagi had received the little gift. Her eyes   
glazed over at the small tiny stars. They were   
so kawaii! She thought when she had first saw   
them. Makoto made her own little addition   
though. Fastened on the ribbon that was tied   
around the bottle was a single dried-pressed   
violet. It was a vibrant grape-purple color.   
"*That*," Makoto continued, pointing at   
the small blossom, "is one of my pressed   
violets. You know what violets mean, Usagi?"   
Usagi shook her head. She was such a   
child when she received gifts.   
"Well," Makoto said, "Violets are for   
faithfulness."  
"Really?" Usagi's eyes began to gleam   
dreamily, similar to the way that Makoto's did   
when she saw a person who resembled her ex-  
boyfriend.   
"Of course!" both girls were giggling   
now. Makoto cleared her throat. "Well, when   
you find the man that you love most, may that   
man be ever faithful to you. He'll love you and   
only you."  
Makoto was such a good friend to her...  
Those words were said such a long time   
ago. Makoto was wrong though, the man that she   
loved did not love her in return. Instead, he   
loved someone else. Perhaps, it was never meant   
to be...   
That last thought made tears flood Usagi's   
eyes again. Clutching the bottle closely to her   
heart, she ran back to the warm comfort of her   
bed. She began to whimper at first, trying to   
find out why the man she loved did not love her   
in return. Her pillow was slowly being drenched   
by tears again. Her weeping had escalated to   
loud racking sobs.   
The bottle that she clutched in her hand   
had left her grasp, but while she was crying, it   
accidentally fell to the ground. Luckily, the   
floor was carpeted and the glass did not break.   
However, when Usagi inadvertently pushed it with   
her foot, the pressed violets became loose.   
They must have been delicate. They had   
lasted longer than Makoto had expected. The   
carpet was soft, but too rough for delicate   
pressed blossoms. When the violets became   
loose, they rubbed against the unmerciful ground   
and crumbled into tiny, purple pieces.   
  
***  
  
Rei paced about in the temple, trying to   
calm down. Usagi didn't show up the day before   
and despite her numerous calls to the Tsukino   
household, no one had picked up. She had   
refrained herself from leaving the temple   
because her grandfather was away with Yuuchiro.   
They had left to go to the countryside for a few   
weeks to gather herbs. Being the obedient   
grandchild she was supposed to be, she agreed to   
stay at the temple and look after things there.   
However, that also meant that she wasn't allowed   
to leave the temple unless she absolutely needed   
to. She looked at the floor underneath her. If   
she was going to continue with her pacing, a   
giant hole would wear into the ground. Figuring   
that it'd be useless to just worry about Usagi,   
she might as well just go out and look for her.   
"Much good I'm going to be to Usagi here,"   
Rei mumbled to herself before grabbing her   
jacket and departing from the temple grounds.   
  
***  
  
This time of year, the sakura blossoms   
were fragrant. Every time a light breeze would   
kiss their branches, bystanders in the park   
would be showered with soft, pink petals that   
smelled of spring time.   
Further into the park, the ground sloped   
gently down into the lake. On a thin crest   
sand, a melancholic Odango Atama quietly threw   
flower blossoms into the lake.   
She had picked up quite a few flowers.   
Violets, daisies, a few sakura blossoms were   
piled neatly beside her. Two thorny roses   
completed her collection.   
She sat upon a large rock, already warmed   
by the sun. Quietly, she took the blossoms one   
by one, peeling their small petals off singly   
and throwing them into the lake.   
She tilted her head to the side. Laughter   
could be heard in the distance. Laughter which   
she desperately wanted to be a part of. She was   
usually the brightest flower during the day.   
Her laughter would ring like chime like music in   
the air. However, she had not laughed since   
that, that...incident.   
Once again, the laughter rang again,   
happier than before. It was coming from one of   
the boats on the lake.   
"A happy couple," murmured Usagi, peeling   
off another petal. Daisy petals fell into the   
lake.   
"Has the soldier of truth and justice and   
love lost it?" She caressed a violet before   
throwing it into the lake as well. Slowly, her   
blossoms floated away.   
The most audible of the couples in the   
row-boats began to row closer to Usagi. The   
person who was steering the oars seemed   
incapable of rowing a boat in his present   
condition. Usagi could make out both of them   
sharing a long and loving kiss under the warm   
sun. The oars raised up into the air, causing   
tiny droplets of water to soar into the air,   
glittering in the sunshine. Finally, the couple   
parted, laughing.   
Usagi listened more closely, the laughing   
resounding over the rippled surface of the lake.   
  
It was a girl's laugh, interlaced with a   
male's.   
  
One of them dipped their hand in water and   
gracefully scooped it into the other's face.  
As they couple rowed closer, Usagi could   
make out their voices.   
"Ryoko! I'm going to get you later!"   
Cried a male voice. Mamoru's voice.   
Usagi was struck down by that voice. The   
keeper of that voice that she had always loved   
and always would.   
"No you're not!" Cried the female voice.   
Her blond hair was extraordinary. It looked as   
if it was spun from the purest of gold.   
Usagi's eyes began to glitter, two crystal   
globe tears formed in the corners. They rolled   
down her silken face.   
  
***  
  
Mamoru was having a grand time. He liked   
Ryoko very much and Ryoko seemed to reciprocate   
his feelings as well. She was a stunning jewel   
in his eyes and absolutely the most beautiful   
person he had ever seen. He had been happier   
the last few days, although there was this tiny   
feeling of uneasiness that refused to go away.   
It felt weak, but it felt more...ancient?   
"Mamoru?" Ryoko asked, cocking her head   
to see what was wrong with him. He had been   
staring into the water for quite some time now.   
She lifted a hand to his face. As if touched   
with a hot iron, he flinched.   
"Yes?" He responded abruptly, looking   
directly into Ryoko's chocolate brown eyes.  
"Are you all right?" She asked concerned.   
"You were off somewhere on your own for a minute   
there."   
"Hmm? I was? Oh, sorry," Mamoru   
apologized before smiling once more. He   
couldn't shake off that feeling of uneasiness.   
That was the same uneasiness he had when he felt   
like someone was watching him. All that time   
being Tuxedo Kamen heightened his senses. He   
looked toward the shoreline. He squinted, but   
all he could see were two retreating Odangos.  
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"   
Persisted Ryoko.  
"No," Replied Mamoru, smiling. "There's   
nothing wrong, princess..."   
  
***  
  
Usagi wandered around the neighborhood   
aimlessly, until she bumped into Rei.  
"Where have you been?" Asked Rei   
worriedly. "We were supposed to meet   
yesterday." She suppressed the urge to yell at   
Usagi for ditching her the day before. However,   
her instinct told her that this is definitely   
not the time for harshness.  
Usagi stared into Rei's dark violet eyes.   
Reaching out a hand to her, she collapsed into   
Rei into a big bear hug.   
"Rei..." sobbed Usagi, tears flowed   
freely down her face.   
Rei couldn't stand watching her best   
friend cry like this. Usagi cried, loud sobs   
racking her lithe figure. Rei's eyes began to   
mist with great sympathy.   
"Rei," repeated Usagi in a tear-choked   
voice. A single tear rolled down Rei's violet   
eyes as well.  
"What is it, Usagi?" Rei asked softly,   
voice like a warm breeze touching Usagi's cold,   
wet face.   
"Mamoru..." Usagi sobbed, clenching   
tighter to her friend. "Ryoko..."  
Mamoru? Wait, Usagi had already gotten to   
the truth before she could inform her! Rei had   
already deduced that, however, she tried to   
ignore that it could be a possibility.   
Why would Mamoru destroy the light and   
love that Usagi had for him? Rei tried to   
figure out why he would do such a thing, but she   
couldn't arrive at a plausible solution. She   
pulled out a white handkerchief from her jacket   
pocket.   
"Here, Usagi." Rei held up the small   
white linen cloth to the crying blond, who   
accepted it willingly.   
"Rei, you must think I'm a crybaby..."   
Usagi mumbled, blowing her nose loudly. Rei   
softened.  
"No comment," she replied, face creased in   
a warm smile. Usagi mirrored the smile,   
attempting to forget about all the pain she was   
currently in.   
"Come on, Odango. I know something   
that'll make you feel better," Rei offered,   
taking Usagi's hand.   
Usagi quirked up an eyebrow. "What?"   
"Grandpa made a large batch of muffins   
before he left and Mako-chan left me some   
cookies this morning."  
With that last comment, Usagi's smile grew   
wider.   
  
***  
  
Mamoru had just spent one of the most   
wonderful afternoons in ages. Never had he been   
so happy before in a relationship. Walking   
around a corner, he crashed into a person. He   
looked downwards into violet eyes.   
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Cried a   
very angry Rei. Her eyes were gleaming like   
cold, hard steel. Behind her was Usagi, who was   
rubbing a sore arm. *She* had bumped into   
Mamoru, not Rei. However, Mamoru had already   
figured that out. Hours of computer work had   
granted him a certain degree of logic.   
"Rei, it's okay." Usagi placed her hand   
lightly on Rei's tense shoulder. Rei shook her   
head passionately.   
"No, it's not!" Rei said between clenched   
teeth. Her fists bunched up at her sides, but   
at Usagi's gentle squeeze on her shoulder, she   
relaxed her fists. Letting out a deep breath,   
she tried to vent her anger out. Although, her   
eyes still held that cold glint of undiminished   
fury.   
"Odango Atama! Haven't seen you in a   
while!" Mamoru teased. Usagi flinched. Mamoru   
frowned. This wasn't the normal reaction of his   
Odango Atama.   
He looked into her teary sapphire eyes.   
There seemed to be so much pain held in those   
blue orbs.   
"Odango, what's wrong?" He asked. Her   
hand moved a little, as if trying to hide   
something, but the pair of roses that she held   
in her hands caught his sight. He reached out a   
hand to lift them gently, bringing Usagi's hands   
up as well.   
Needless to say, Usagi was surprised. She   
accidentally lost her grasp on the two roses and   
both plummeted to the ground with a soft thud.   
However, both her hand which previously held the   
roses began to sting. In her depressed state,   
she did not notice the thorns puncture her palm   
and leave bloody red welts.   
Mamoru stared in horror. Blood flowed   
from Usagi's hand, but she wasn't crying, like   
she usually did. It was quite unusual. Lifting   
her hand to inspect it, his hand was immediately   
batted away and his eyes were met with two   
gleaming violet ones.   
"Don't touch her!" Cried Rei furiously.   
"You have no *right* to!" She barred the way   
between Mamoru and Usagi. Mamoru was confused.   
He didn't understand why Rei wouldn't let him   
help Usagi.   
Suddenly, Rei grasped Usagi's uninjured   
arm and forcefully dragged her away.   
"We don't need to affiliate with him!"   
Rei said, before she and Usagi retreated behind   
the street corner.   
"What just happened?" Mamoru asked   
himself. This made no sense to him. He   
shrugged, but he could have sworn that the   
wounds on Usagi's hand weren't made with just   
those two roses that she was holding when he   
bumped into her. Analyzing the concept more and   
more in his mind, he realized that there were   
also other, older wounds on her hands along with   
the fresh wounds as well.   
The twin roses on the ground caught his   
eyes. Their rich redness seemed to contrast   
greatly with the cement sidewalk. Their velvety   
petals shuddered in the light breeze before   
blowing away.  
  
***  
  
Hmm...Usagi/Mamoru fanfic's shouldn't be this   
dramatic, ne? Well, at least I'm continuing   
this fanfic. :)  
  
As for submissions, I'll alternate...Well, at   
least, I'll try to get a story out every week.   
:)  
  
Want spoilers? Questions, Comments, Flames?   
(Constructive flames please!) E-mail to:  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
  



	3. Chapter 2 - Usagi Into the Limelight

Hello! I'd like to thank all those people who   
e-mailed me! J Arigato! Anyway, a note:  
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is the property of Naoko   
Takeuchi. I don't own it.  
  
Any questions? Comments? Constructive flames?  
E-mail to:  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
Fate's Will  
Chapter 2: Usagi into the Limelight  
  
Days had passed by, days that were filled   
with tears and little joy. Usagi had spent many   
days crying until her eyes had grown puffy and   
constantly damp. Her pillow could have been   
drier and that bright light that she always   
carried about her almost flickered dangerously   
toward the edge of being extinguished.   
Eventually, she drifted into the gloomy   
stage of depression. She spoke little, did   
little and even ate little. Her friends and   
fellow senshi had noticed a significant decrease   
in her weight, although, none had the heart to   
mention it. There seemed to be this perpetual   
gloom that drifted around with her that was   
noticed by the abrupt change of Usagi's   
behavior, except Usagi.   
"Usagi-chan," chided Ami, tilting her head   
forward to check on the blond Odango Atama.   
Usagi flinched slightly, then relaxed, noticing   
who it was.   
"Usagi-chan," Ami repeated softly,   
speaking to Usagi's delicate and sensitive ears.   
"Ami-chan?" Usagi replied vacantly. She   
was twiddling with a pencil in the library. The   
last place in the world to find Usagi would be   
the library, however, it was the most quietest   
place in the world, next to her room. She found   
the quiet murmuring of students and other   
scholars more to her liking. The boisterous   
conversations in the malls and the loud honking   
cars outdoors were simply too loud for her   
tender ears. Usagi wasn't quite ready to read   
those large texts that Ami normally buried   
herself in, but sitting in the library and   
sketching or doing origami. That was a new   
habit that she had picked up, folding small   
pieces of paper into little animal shapes seemed   
to amuse her a little.   
"Usagi-chan, what have you got there?"   
Ami asked, pointing at Usagi's hand. She seemed   
to be hiding something, but something that was   
hidden from Ami's sight. She had just returned   
from modern sciences aisle in the library and   
dropped the texts she had gathered onto the   
polished wooded desk. Ami was widely known for   
studying quietly by herself. Naturally, Ami had   
been the person who suggested to Usagi that the   
library might be a logical place for a refuge   
from the world outdoors.  
Slowly, Usagi opened up her hand. A small   
purple crane rested on her slender palm. It's   
wings spread partially upwards. It's neck   
seemed to protrude like a needle through fabric,   
it's head arched and folded carefully forward to   
produce a beak. It's tail feathers pointed   
upwards rigidly.  
"It's a crane," Usagi said pointedly, not   
removing her eyes from her paper creation.  
  
***  
  
A single figure stared into the vortex.   
Dark and light seemed to swirl continuously,   
meeting in someplace to merge together into a   
steely gray color.   
Suddenly a figure emerged, clothed in deep   
sea green and blue robes, with silver brocade.   
It's features were shrouded by it's robe, unseen   
by anyone. It lifted one shadowy hand toward   
the figure standing at the bystander at the   
portal.   
"You summoned me?" Asked the shadowed   
figure in a rasping voice. But it generally   
cleared up and a rich tenor voice rang within   
the continuum which both the figures currently   
resided in.   
"Yes," a voice, female, chimed. "I want   
you to run an errand for me," she continued,   
lifting a hand to her long, dark locks. She   
began to fiddle with the tips of her hair.   
"What is it that you want?" The shadow   
asked huskily. It's voice clearing even more as   
it spoke.   
"I want you to find something…"   
"Find what?" Prompted the shadow.   
"I want you to find the Princess of the   
Moon and bring her to me," she replied in a   
commanding tone.   
"It will be as you wish," the shadow   
obliged, before disappearing into a thin wisp   
and swiftly trailing out of sight.   
  
***  
  
Usagi walked with Ami down the sidewalk.   
As always, the birds were chirping and there was   
little traffic on the street. Both of them were   
having a casual conversation. Normally, Usagi   
would be rather bubbly and trip over cracks in   
the sidewalk periodically, however, this   
conversation was rather calm for one that   
included Usagi.   
They rounded around a corner, with Usagi   
in the partial lead, explaining to Ami the   
details of origami. Ami, was as usual,   
interested in basically anything that was   
informative. However, Usagi, lost in her   
explanations, crashed into someone.   
"I'm sorry," Usagi apologized as she bent   
down to pick up the books that the person she   
had collided in dropped. She bent down to   
retrieve the two books. The words 'astronomy'   
and 'stars' caught her eye. The other person,   
likewise, bent down, without looking at the   
person they had collided into. However, Usagi   
had gathered all his books and looked toward him   
to apologize again.   
"I'm sorry," she said again, as she stared   
directly into gray-blue? They were more of a   
warm-gray color, soft even. There was no hint   
of anger within the grayish depths. Usagi   
inhaled deeply as the person she had bumped into   
gazed directly into her sapphire eyes. She   
could see her image mirrored into his eyes and   
was sure that he could see his in hers as well.   
Beautiful dark blond hair framed handsome   
features which seemed to sparkle and shine under   
the sun. Under his typical short-sleeve dress   
shirt, Usagi could make out his muscled biceps.   
He was more of a medium build, and judging from   
the text books he held, he was more likely a   
university student.   
"I'm sorry miss," he said, his tenor-like   
voice sincere. His faced creased into a small   
smile. "Are you hurt?"   
Usagi shook her head. "You?"   
He shook his blond head in reply.   
Growing a little bolder, Usagi decided to   
ask this stranger a question and offer   
assistance.  
"Are you lost?" She asked. She had   
absolutely no idea why she would ask someone   
such a question. It was none of her business   
anyway. Although, she felt compelled to help   
this, albeit handsome, stranger.   
"Yeah, I go to Takumashii University. I   
just got there actually." He chuckled a little.   
"I was trying to get to the observatory in the   
Juuban district. I've turned around so many   
corners and they all seem to look the same…" He   
smiled wryly.  
"The observatory?" Usagi inquired. She   
pointed toward a general direction. "I go to   
the Juuban high and the observatory is pretty   
close to us. Just go down this street until you   
reach the Hikawa shrine, then walk through the   
park and…" Usagi rambled on until she had   
reached the destination she was attempting to   
describe.   
He looked a little confused at first, but   
gradually caught on to the confusing description   
that Usagi was giving him. Soon, Usagi had   
managed to map out a route to the observatory.   
"Studying stars?" Usagi asked casually,   
rocking back on her heels slightly. She pointed   
to the his text books.   
"Yeah," he replied, creasing into that   
winsome little smile again.   
"Is it interesting?" What an absurd   
question to ask! However, Usagi brushed away   
that thought. There was no use in looming over   
a small mistake.   
However, he didn't find the question   
useless. He nodded once. "It's really   
interesting, you should come along one day to   
the observatory. I've just been posted there   
for a study program."   
Usagi thought about this invitation,   
however, before she could formulate an answer,   
Ami tapped on her watch.   
"Usagi-chan, were running a little tight   
on schedule. Mako-chan is expecting us," Ami   
reminded Usagi, while taking hold of her arm.   
"We're going to be late!" Usagi broke   
from the pleasant conversation she was having   
with the handsome stranger. Exasperated, she   
and Ami began heading down the street at a fast   
pace.  
"Bye!" Usagi shouted before disappearing   
around the next bend.  
The man simply looked at the retreating   
figures quizzically. He shrugged. About to   
walk down the opposite direction in which the   
girls had departed, he spotted a single object   
on the ground. It was a purple paper crane. It   
scraped against the ground as he picked it up   
and he held it gently in his palm.   
"I forgot to get her name," he muttered to   
himself, twirling the crane between his fingers   
by it's paper tail. Shrugging again, he   
continued down the sidewalk, a small grin on his   
face.  
  
***  
  
"Usagi-chan! You don't normally talk to   
complete strangers! You're not seriously   
thinking on going to that observatory, are you?"   
Ami asked. She and Usagi conversed as they   
continued their fast pace down the street.   
Usagi shrugged.   
"It might be interesting to go an take a   
look." Usagi was truly curious about this place   
and she really did want to meet this person   
again. However she didn't know why.   
"I'm sure it'll be all right, Ami-chan,"   
Usagi reasoned. "It's a public place after   
all."   
"I know you can take care of yourself,"   
Ami replied, halting both her and Usagi. She   
stood face to face with her. In fact, she was   
worried about Usagi going off somewhere on her   
own. She had been experiencing depression for   
quite some time and wasn't sure if she would   
think straight. Quite frankly, Ami was worried   
about her friend and didn't know what would   
happen if she had another confrontation with   
Mamoru-san. Who knows what Usagi would do in a   
major depressed state?  
Usagi placed a reassuring hand on Ami's   
small shoulder.   
"Ami-chan, don't worry. I'll be fine,"   
Usagi said.   
"All right," Ami said, resolved. She   
smiled at her friend. "I trust you. You know   
that we all will, no matter what."   
They continued walking again, picking up   
their pace once more. Suddenly, Usagi halted   
abruptly, again.  
"I didn't get his name!" She said,   
distressed. She grasped a fistful of golden   
hair, frustrated.   
Ami raised an eyebrow, a thin smile coming   
to her face. She turned to face the still-  
frustrated Usagi.   
"And may I ask, what would you do if you   
knew his name?" Ami interrogated, eager to pry   
the information from Usagi.   
A pale pink blush came to Usagi's delicate   
features. Her lips pursed, unable to answer. A   
small girlish smile came to her face.  
"Would you be, by any chance, interested   
in him?" Drawled Ami, still trying to pry the   
information from Usagi.   
Usagi turned crimson, and shook her head   
furiously. However, a giggle managed to escape   
her lips.  
"Usagi-chan," Ami drawled again in her   
interrogation. "Is there something you're not   
telling me?" She extended her syllables,   
attempting to sound menacing.   
Usagi, not able to take the pressure of   
the senshi of ice questioning her about such a   
delicate topic did what she could only think of.  
  
Usagi bolted at lightening speed.   
  
"Hey, Usagi-chan! Wait up!" Ami cried   
toward the dust cloud that was rapidly   
disappearing.   
"So, she's found herself anther interest…"   
Ami bit her lip in anticipation, "Wait til' I   
tell the others!" Knowing this, a great weight   
was lifted from Ami's shoulders. This was a   
very good sign. She was retrieving herself from   
the depths of depression. Usagi was forgetting   
about Mamoru-san.   
  
***  
  
Not a very good ending, but you're probably   
wondering:  
  
Is Usagi ever going to get together with Mamoru?   
  
Who is that woman standing by the vortex and   
that shadow?  
  
Is Usagi forgetting about Mamoru already?  
  
Who *is* that guy that guy that Usagi and Ami   
bumped into?  
  
Oh, I also have a web page where I post these   
stories. The earliest update should be from   
there:  
  
www.geocities.com/tokiya_ensui  
  
Anyone want to submit a fanfic? Check out the   
sight for more information.  
  
Anyway, comments, flames (constructive flames   
please!), e-mail to:  
  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
  



	4. Chapter 3 - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Mizu: Oh joy! Another chapter is weaved into   
the fabric of my story! J (That didn't make   
much sense, did it?) *a bunch of readers shake   
their heads* I tried. *shrugs*  
  
Anyway, the customary notes before we begin:  
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko   
Takeuchi. I don't own it.  
  
Chapter 3: Not a clue for a title yet…  
  
All was quiet, except for the crickets.   
Underneath a star-speckled sky, a single figure   
fiddled with the fixtures on a fairly large   
telescope, his other hand, holding a clip board   
of his findings.   
Periodically, he would peer into the   
telescope for long moments. He would briefly   
pause now and then to scratch on the clipboard   
with a pen and mutter out numbers.   
He had been at this for hours, although he   
was quite used to it. A large cup of coffee   
rested beside his telescope, emitting out a   
fragrant aroma. Absent-mindedly, he reached for   
the warm cup and took a sizable gulp from the   
cup. His other hand brushed away a lock of   
golden hair.   
"Gyokuren," A voice called to him.   
Without turning, the young astronomer recognized   
the voice immediately.   
"Professor," Gyokuren replied, taking   
another sip of the strong, black liquid. He   
began fiddling with his telescope again.   
"Have you got the coordinates I asked   
for?" The professor's asked patiently. His   
voice cracked with age.   
"Finishing up the report right now,"   
Gyokuren muttered more to himself rather than to   
the aged professor. Quickly scribbling the last   
fragments of information on the report, he   
turned to face the professor.   
The professor reached out a hand for the   
paper, gruffly taking the report from his pupil.   
Taking the flashlight that Gyokuren handed him   
along with the report, he switched it on with an   
audible click. The flashlight quickly abolished   
all the surrounding darkness, illuminating the   
paper.   
Turning the paper over with roughened   
hands, the elderly man scanned the information   
that Gyokuren had so methodically recorded the   
last few hours. Like clockwork, the professor's   
eyes glanced from one end of the page to the   
other, not missing a single word or number. His   
light green blue eyes reading with ease from   
long years of methodical practice. However,   
within those aquamarine depths held great   
quantities of aged wisdom and knowledge. The   
professor was probably capable of reciting great   
quantities of information. He was like multiple   
libraries, all compressed into a little old man.   
A few moments later, he gazed directly at   
Gyokuren with those eyes that bore a wealth of   
knowledge. The hand that held the report   
dropped to his side.   
"So, it's moved, hasn't it?" The   
professor asked, glancing back at the report.   
Gyokuren nodded.   
"You're sure this is accurate?" The   
professor persisted, shaking the report   
slightly. The sound of rattling paper seemed to   
echo across the field.   
Again, Gyokuren nodded.   
"The star's axis changed again. It's now   
pointing nor north west," Gyokuren replied,   
brushing back that stubborn lock of golden hair   
that kept getting into his eyes. Sighing, he   
leaned backwards in his sitting position on the   
field, bracing himself with one, strong arm.   
However, his hand met his clipboard, leaving   
patterned reliefs in his palm. He shifted into   
another position.   
"That's odd. But it's expected of her."   
The professor glanced up at the sky pinpointing   
the star that Gyokuren was monitoring.   
"It would be something that she'd do,"   
Gyokuren replied, glancing up at the star as   
well. In ordinary sight, that specific star   
looked identical to any other star, however, in   
Gyokuren and the professor's vision, it looked   
slightly different.   
"The edges are still tinged with that   
shade," commented Gyokuren casually. The   
professor nodded.   
"It always has been," responded the   
elderly man. In his eyes, the star was tinged   
an unusual viridian green on the edges where   
it's "points" were. "We can't do anything about   
it, yet anyway." The professor glanced at the   
green tinged star one last time before turning   
to leave. Slowly, he trudged across the field   
and up the hill to the lone observatory.   
Gyokuren turned back at his telescope,   
once again fiddling with it's fixtures. Turning   
a few knobs, he focused on that one star, out of   
many. The greenish tinge on it's edge was still   
there. He shrugged, shifting his position on   
the field once more. His hand met his   
clipboard, and he reached a hand to look for his   
pen before he inadvertently sat on it. He knew   
how much *that* would hurt.   
The professor had taken his flashlight and   
not forgotten to return it back to him.   
Gyokuren sighed and continued looking for the   
mini flashlight.   
"Why do they make them in black?"   
Gyokuren muttered to himself, still fiddling   
around for the flashlight.   
Eventually, his fingers came upon an   
object. It didn't feel like the flashlight.   
Actually, it was quite pointy and rigid, with   
smooth, thin sides. Grasping the object with   
his fingers, he lifted it gingerly to his face.   
There, within his grasp, was a paper crane   
that he had picked up earlier that day. He   
gazed at it with smoky blue eyes. It was   
perfectly folded and the parts proportioned. He   
had found it shortly after his encounter with   
that beautiful blond girl. He had assumed that   
it was hers, since it was left in the vicinity   
of where she was standing. Well, if she   
accepted his invitation to the observatory   
tomorrow, he should see then and perhaps return   
her paper creation back to her.  
He placed it back on his clipboard, where   
one of it's wings dipped to one side. The   
moonlight spilled upon the small figure,   
tingeing it's light violet wings with silver   
light.   
  
***  
  
Mamoru groaned and banged his head on his   
desk repeatedly.  
"baka *thump* baka *thump*…"  
When he retrieved himself from his self-  
torture session, a fading red mark had made it's   
way to his forehead. He cradled his wounded   
forehead.   
Tiredly, he placed his fingers on the   
keyboard and fervently typed out complex   
commands. He bit his lip, fingers typing faster   
with every passing moment.   
Suddenly, the glowing computer screen   
began to flicker. Mamoru froze.   
Error…Error… The computer screen read.   
Slumping in his chair, Mamoru groaned and   
rubbed his eyes. He didn't really feel like   
banging his head on the hard, cold desk again.   
One massive headache was just enough for him.   
After rubbing his eyes and thoroughly scrubbing   
his face with his hands, he looked at his watch,   
which read, 11:00. It wasn't late for him,   
however, he had begun working early in the   
morning.   
"Oh bother," he grumbled, getting up from   
his cramped position and making his way into the   
kitchen. There, he managed to find the cupboard   
and began rummaging in the dark for any source   
of nourishment. His hand came across something   
smooth, that felt much like an instant cup of   
ramen noodles. He placed the cup to his   
sensitive nose.   
It felt like ramen noodles, it smelled   
like ramen noodles. Therefore, it *must* be   
ramen noodles.   
With ramen noodles cradled in one hand, he   
began to fiddle for the light switch with his   
other hand.   
A click sounded and the light switched on,   
illuminating the kitchen tiles. Quickly, he put   
a kettle on the stove and hungrily opened the   
cup of instant ramen noodles.   
"Hmm…a sizable chunk of noodle, powdered   
soup base and dehydrated vegetables…" Mamoru   
lifted an eyebrow as he analyzed his dinner.   
"Everything's there," he shrugged.   
After what seemed like hours, the kettle   
finally began to whistle. A trail of steam rose   
from it's opening and dissipated into the air.   
Mamoru poured the boiling water into the   
little cup, a faint aroma rising from it.   
Stabbing his chopsticks into the cup, he   
managed to fish out a large portion of the   
noodles. Just as he was about to place the   
contents of the noodle cup in his mouth, he   
noticed a small stamp that seemed to have been   
absorbed by the artificial material of the cup.   
Looking more closely, he noticed that   
those random numbers on the cup were actually a   
date. He gazed at the stamp imprint for a long   
time before he dropped his ramen noodles onto   
the counter.   
He gazed longingly at the cup, a look of   
despair in his eyes.   
The noodles had expired, two *years* ago.   
He slumped against the wall. He wondered why   
the label looked a little different than the   
ones plastered on their products now.   
Running back to the cupboard, he tried   
looking for another cup of ramen noodles,   
however, nothing was to be found. He had   
exhausted his supply of instant food.   
Closing the cupboard like a disappointed   
child, he bowed his head, turned off the light.   
Eventually, his eyes adjusted to the dark, and   
he stopped walking into furniture.   
Reaching the foot of his bed, he slumped   
into the inviting blankets. He closed his eyes   
and drifted off slowly into a deep slumber.  
  
***  
  
It was dark and dank in the sewers.   
However, a figure deeper than the deepest of   
nights trailed into bars, restaurants, parks,   
everywhere that people were at this time of   
night. A thick shadow would drift silently into   
those popular meeting places and would cover up   
entire crowds in just seconds. It would begin   
with someone coughing and eventually, everyone   
would faint simultaneously. A thick, black mist   
would engulf the fallen bodies. When the mist   
dissipated, no one was left in sight. Countless   
bars and restaurants were left like that, on   
that night.   
Eventually, the dark shadow had cleared   
all the boisterous public places in the   
district.   
"Time to visit those who slumber…" A   
tenor voice declared, before drifting toward the   
residential district.   
  
***  
  
Usagi awoke with a soft startle. The   
senshi communicator beside her pillow began to   
beep excitedly. Suddenly energized, Usagi   
flipped open her pink communicator and looked at   
the small face that appeared within.  
"Usagi!" Ami cried, "There's a youma   
where I live!"   
"Ami-chan?" Usagi questioned, shaking off   
the last traces of fatigue. Her blue eyes   
widened in concern. "Hold on Ami-chan! I'll be   
there!"   
Snapping her communicator shut, she   
grabbed her brooch and transformed.   
Pink bands of glittering translucent   
ribbon wrapped around her slim form, enclosing   
around her. With one last glimmer, Sailor Moon   
appeared, complete in her blue, white and red   
senshi suit. Without hesitation, she jumped out   
of her lace-draped window and ran toward the   
Mizuno's residence.  
  
***  
  
The dark shadow held the limp figure of   
her mother before she disappeared into it's   
depths, much like the other victims in the city.   
"I need more power!" boomed the voice of   
the shadow. It's size had increased   
considerably and it's voice had dropped to a low   
baritone. It turned to stare at Ami, who was   
fully transformed into senshi mode.   
"You plan to beat me, little girl?" the   
baritone voice mocked, stressing the words,   
"little" and "girl".   
Ami dismissed the insult. She wasn't   
about to be hurt by a dark shadow, of all   
things…   
"Shabon spray!" Mercury cried, releasing   
a jet of bubbles and thick mist. She wanted to   
scan the shadow before she confronted it.   
However, it penetrated her thick fog and loomed   
above her dangerously.   
"No…" Mercury whispered, before she too   
was engulfed with black mist. Her form   
shimmered momentarily before disappearing.   
The shadow laughed, basking in the   
strength that this "little girl" had just   
provided for him. However, his humor was cut   
short by a blast to his side. Turning in pain,   
he spotted a girl with long, blond hair.  
"I am the sailor moon!" The senshi began.   
She then proceeded to look around for Mercury.  
"Ami, where are you? Ami?!" Sailor Moon   
cried out, exasperated. She searched the room   
for her blue-haired friend, but she was no where   
to be found.   
"That *little girl*" The shadow boomed.   
"She's gone! But not to worry, you'll join her   
soon enough!" With that last threat, he raised   
a shadowy limb and hurled Sailor Moon at the   
wall.  
  
***  
  
Mamoru awoke, once again, sweat beaded   
down his forehead. His knuckles were an icy   
white and he breathed haggardly. That dream   
came to him again, however, there seemed to be   
more urgency within it.   
There was also this *tugging* within him.   
Something that seemed to tell him that there was   
someone who needed him. He had felt this before   
and almost immediately, a single red rose   
appeared in his hand.   
The phone began to ring. Mamoru reached   
to pick it up.  
"Yes?" He asked, a little impatiently.  
"Mamoru? Are you awake? It's Ryoko." A   
feminine voice came through the receiver. A   
smile spread across Mamoru's face.   
That tugging sensation began to fade as he   
talked with Ryoko. Eventually, it shrank enough   
for Mamoru to disregard.   
"Odd," Mamoru muttered to himself. "I   
guess it's okay."   
"What's okay?" Ryoko asked across the   
phone line.   
Mamoru smiled affectionately.   
"Nothing, talking to you is just fine…"   
  
***  
  
Sailor Moon awoke from her unconscious   
state. The shadow loomed over her, almost as if   
he was waiting for her to wake up.  
"Ah, you're awake I see. I tend to   
receive more power when I consume humans who are   
*awake*." The voice began to laugh mercilessly.  
"Where are you, Tuxedo Kamen?" Sailor   
Moon uttered, before slumping into the wall once   
more.  
  
***  
  
comments? Flames? (constructive flames   
please!) Questions? E-mail to:  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
URL: www.geocities.com/tokiya_ensui  
  
Mizu: Yay! I'm finished!   
Antigone: What *have* you done to Mamoru now?   
How *could* you?  
Mizu: *scuffing foot on floor* well…  
Antigone: well? *taps floor expectantly*  
Mizu: I see only one way to get out of this   
situation.  
Antigone: And how is that? *rolls sleeves up*  
Mizu: *mizu bolts, a trail of left behind*  
Antigone: Get back here!  
Mamoru: *sweatdrops* Why do you make me   
suffer? First the ramen noodles, then the   
furniture in the dark! *begins to chase Mizu as   
well*  
Mizu: Now now, Mamoru, I'm the author here!   
*help!*  
  
  



	5. Chapter 4 - Velvet and Silk

So all the major work happens to fall during   
this time of the year…well, there's bad news and   
there's more bad news:  
  
1. well, just think, WORK!   
2. can't write for the deadline…and besides,   
they squeeze out all the creative juices in   
you so that you have nothing to draw from—  
well, not that I…umm…nevermind…   
  
Anyway, I guess the good news is that at least   
this is out! *yay!*  
  
Anyway, the customary note before we begin:  
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko   
Takeuchi. I don't own it.   
  
Plus, the title makes no sense to me…it was just   
a spur of the moment thing. I'm usually   
terrible with titles, so please, bear with me   
here. (Although this one has another meaning…)  
  
Chapter 4: Velvet and Silk  
  
Usagi brushed away velvety wisps of golden   
hair. She was in pain—great pain. Where was   
she? Her eyes widened in panic. Ami! Was her   
friend *gulp* alive? Her body felt extremely   
heavy and getting up was a major chore.   
Managing to raise herself a little, she caught   
a glimpse of her surroundings.   
"This is…Rei's place?" She wondered   
aloud, trying to figure out how she came to be   
where she was now. Her bandaged arms finally   
gave way beneath her and lost the strength to   
brace up her lithe figure. She slumped down   
into jumbo, white-linen pillows and exhaled.   
"Ow…" She muttered.   
In the distance, the soft sound of   
footsteps trailed toward her direction. The   
systematic sound of what sounded like typical   
wooden shoes on a bamboo covered floor sounded   
much like a metronome. Oddly, Usagi was   
comforted by that methodical sound. As the   
footsteps grew louder and finally came to a   
halt, the wooden screen door slid open and   
revealed the priestess of Hikawa shrine.  
"Good morning Usagi," Rei began. Usagi   
raised an eyebrow. This was the first time that   
Rei had been civil to her in the morning. Well,   
then again, she was in bed, covered from head to   
foot with heavy blankets. Usagi tried to look   
over the mountain of pillows that blocked her   
from seeing Rei.  
"Rei?" Usagi began weakly, yet again,   
trying to hoist herself up from the heavy load   
of comforters upon her. She inadvertently   
placed too much pressure than she should have on   
her right side. Pain tore at her side and she   
bit the inside of her cheek, drawing blood.  
Two hands came to support her on her   
shoulders. Usagi leaned against them as pillows   
were quickly stacked behind her. She leaned   
down with a sigh, still tasting the blood in her   
mouth.   
"Rei? How long have I been here?" Usagi   
managed weakly. She lifted a heavily bandaged   
hand at her throbbing forehead. Rubbing it   
gingerly, she took a quick peak at the rest of   
her. She gasped as she noticed that she was   
covered with bandages at the shoulders, waist   
and one of her legs and ankles. However, they   
were of fresh linen and someone had changed them   
earlier.   
"About three days," Rei answered straight-  
forwardly. She could be crystal clear when she   
wanted to be sometimes. She proceeded to raise   
the blankets to Usagi's shoulders.   
"Wait! Aren't my parents going to wonder   
where I've been these last few days?" Usagi's   
eyes widened abruptly and anxiety began to creep   
into her voice.   
"Well, we took care of it," Rei said   
patiently, as if consoling a young child.   
"What did you do?" Usagi asked curiously,   
as she peered at Rei from behind the blankets.   
She was almost afraid to ask this question.  
Rei paused. "We told them the same   
thing, as usual."  
Usagi lifted a quizzical eyebrow. "And   
what was that?"   
"That Ami was tutoring you and you   
decided to stay there for awhile."   
Usagi managed to stifle a laugh. "I think   
that excuse has worn out, Rei."  
"Well, it was the only thing we could   
think of at the time," Rei replied candidly.   
Suddenly, Usagi gasped as realization   
dawned upon her. "Ami! Where's Ami! Is she   
okay? Is she *alive*? Ami!" She searched the   
room with her eyes, trying to hoist herself up   
again. However, her wounds prevented her from   
rising.  
"Shh... Usagi-chan!" Rei said soothingly,   
yet firmly. However, Usagi still continued on   
with her frantic speech.  
"Ami! We've got to save her!" Usagi   
cried again. Rei held the frantic Usagi down.  
"Usagi! Calm down!" Rei scolded. She   
didn't know how Usagi managed to muster all this   
strength when she was bound with bandaged from   
head to foot.   
"Rei, don't you understand? Ami is in   
trouble!" Usagi wailed, before slumping into   
the pillows again. The exertion of trying to   
rise from the bed had exhausted her.   
"Usagi!" Rei said firmly, meeting Usagi's   
teary sapphire eyes with her violet depths.   
Usagi immediately stopped wailing and was   
reduced to a few inconsistent sniffles and   
hiccups.   
"Ami is fine," Rei began. "She was hurt,   
but Mako-chan and I took care of it. She went   
home yesterday."   
Usagi listened to Rei's words absently.   
She blinked. "You mean Ami's okay?" Her eyes   
began grow teary again.  
"Isn't that what I just said?" Rei   
snapped impatiently. She sighed theatrically.   
"What am I going to do with you Odango Atama?   
Now don't go crying all over me," Rei said   
sharply. "You know that you'll wet all the   
pillows with buckets of salt water!"   
"Yay! Ami's okay!" Usagi cried, wiping   
away the moisture that was gathering up in her   
eyes. However, she slumped back into her bed,   
writhing in pain.   
"Take it easy, Usagi-chan. You're going   
to hurt yourself more than that shadow did."   
Usagi winced, "Shadow? Was it destroyed?"   
"Mako-chan, Minako and I caught the   
distress call that Ami sent and I we well, you   
can guess what we did…" Rei said impishly,   
motioning the same action she would as if she   
were performing her fire soul attack.   
A picture began to form in Usagi's mind.   
A little fiery looking Rei would burn the poor   
monster to a crisp. Then Mako-chan would come   
along with her lightening bolts and fry the   
monster some more. Minako would hold it   
immobile with her chain of hearts while Mako-  
chan would happily pound the monster to a pulp   
with a giant mallet.   
Usagi sweatdropped and stifled a giggle.   
She knew what Rei and Makoto were capable of   
when they were irate.   
"Umm…Rei, can I ask you something?" Usagi   
questioned in a cautious, small voice.   
"Yes, Usagi-chan?"   
"Did you see anyone in a black and red   
cape throwing roses?"   
"Throwing roses?" Suddenly, the idea   
dawned upon Rei and her face lit up with   
comprehension. "You mean *him*? No, I don't   
think so… He's that dreamy   
guy in the tuxedo with the most gorgeous—"   
*whack* "What was that for?" Rei asked   
irritably, rubbing the back of her head.  
Usagi stood, poised on her bed, holding   
one of those jumbo pillows. A barricade of   
pillows surrounded her as if she were behind a   
fortress.   
"You're not allowed to like him!" Usagi   
bellowed, holding the pillow threateningly over   
Rei's head. Rei sweatdropped as her forehead   
turned blue and ingrained with thin creases.   
She stared at Usagi with button black eyes.   
"What do you mean by that?!" Rei's voice   
grew several tones higher.   
Not long after that, the sound of two   
teenagers squabbling invaded the peacefulness of   
the shrine. If one listened close enough,   
they'd be able to hear Rei grinding her teeth in   
frustration and Usagi sticking out her tongue in   
pure stubbornness.  
  
***  
  
A certain young, blond girl wearing a   
Juuban High School uniform happily holding an   
ice cream cone. Melting ice cream dribbled down   
her chin. Nevertheless, she continued eating   
the sweet treat, regardless of how messy she got   
in the process.  
Usagi had recovered fully and was allowed   
out of the Hikawa shrine borders when Rei had   
seen her fit to fend for herself.   
She was on her way to the observatory, to   
meet that mystery man she bumped into a few   
weeks ago. Raising an arm, she wiped her chin   
with her sleeve.   
Usagi trekked up the steep grass covered   
hill. When she had reached the top, she leaned   
upon the doors, taking deep gulps of air to   
replenish her neglected lungs.   
"Didn't…think…that…it'd…be…that bad,"   
Usagi managed to utter before collapsing on the   
ground. She stayed in that kneeling-sitting   
position until the door before her opened and a   
blond head popped out.  
"Hello!" The person said cheerfully, "I   
didn't think you were coming."   
Usagi recognized him. He had been the   
person she had met earlier. He stretched out an   
arm in assistance. Slowly, and cautiously,   
Usagi reached for that outstretched hand and   
hoisted herself up from the ground.  
"Come in," he said, leading her into the   
observatory.   
"What do you do here? Man the doors?"   
Usagi asked, giggling. Gyokuren smiled.  
Quietly, the two made their way into his   
dark study room. Charts covered the walls in a   
patchwork quilt pattern, each scribbled in a   
writing so illegible that it seemed to be in   
another language. Observation reports were   
strewn across his large desk. A computer was   
flickering among those papers, the keyboard   
barely surfacing from all the rummage.   
Gyokuren led her to his computer screen   
and proceeded to type in a number of passwords,   
after his long quest for his computer mouse.   
The images that showed up on the screen were   
reflected back from the glasses that he'd just   
slipped on prior to Usagi's arrival.   
He paused the screen and moved slightly to   
the side for the confused Usagi to inspect. She   
gasped.   
"What is that?" Usagi squinted at the   
picture on the screen. The resolution on   
Gyokuren's monitor was superb, almost   
experimental. However, his position in the   
observatory allowed him access to exceptional   
equipment. The pictures that showed up on the   
screen were almost lifelike.   
"It's a cluster of stars. Another galaxy.   
Out of all the one's we've discovered, I think   
this one is the most interesting…" Gyokuren   
said with a softness about his eyes that only   
Usagi could notice. She brushed away a curly   
lock of blond hair that was obstructing her view   
of the computer screen. There, stars swirled   
into a tiny pinnacle where they became denser   
and tinier. Somehow, this picture seemed very   
familiar to her. For some reason, she had the   
distinct feeling that she had been there before.   
She shook her head in disbelief. No, she had   
never been there before, she couldn't have.   
Gyokuren almost looked at the swirling   
stars longingly, as if entranced by the view of   
the little dots of light. On one end of the   
galaxy, he could see a tiny dot that went   
unnoticed by everyone, save him and the   
professor. Even on a computer screen, a   
generated image of the actual thing, he could   
see a tiny viridian green dot. He turned to   
Usagi, and was entranced by her innocent   
childlike curiosity.   
After a few long moments, Usagi caught   
Gyokuren's gaze. Something felt odd about that   
gaze, that same familiar feeling that she had   
when she'd first caught a glimpse of the galaxy   
on the computer screen.  
"This is from a satellite revolving around   
the world. Well, you could see it with a really   
good telescope on a clear night, but the   
satellite tends to get clearer images."   
Gyokuren paused to rummage in his shirt pocket.   
"Oh, incidentally, I found this after our first   
meeting." He pulled out something flat and   
folded from his shirt pocket and set it on the   
palm of his hand. There, sat the paper crane   
that Usagi had folded when she was at the   
library with Ami.  
"How did you get this?" Usagi asked   
timidly, taking a hold of the crane. She gently   
lifted up the object as if a breeze would lift   
up a small, velvety flower petal.   
Gyokuren shrugged, "Well, you left pretty   
abruptly and I found it so I figured you might   
want it back. It could've meant something to   
you and I wouldn't have wanted you to lose it if   
it did. I had the opportunity to give it back   
to you, so I did." He smiled handsomely, taking   
off the professional-looking glasses.   
"You kept something like that just for   
me?" Her voice coming out in a tiny squeak.  
Gyokuren nodded, and those silky blond   
locks of his fell in front of his gray-blue   
depths, obstructing his view of the bewildered   
girl before him.   
Usagi gasped. This was the first person   
that had been this considerate of her. This was   
how she would've wanted to be treated by Mamoru,   
yet, she had received the kind treatment, yet,   
it wasn't from him. For the first time in   
weeks, Usagi didn't cry at the sound of Mamoru's   
name. Even in the darkness, Usagi could feel   
her cheeks go rosy.  
"Oh, I have something for you. I thought   
that you might like these. I happened to   
stumble by them earlier today." Gyokuren   
reached behind a giant mass of reports and   
pulled out a bunch of flowers from a glass   
bottle. He shook out the water from the bottom   
of the stems.  
"Oh, by the way, my name is Gyokuren," he   
said, outstretching his arm to hand her the   
small bouquet.   
"Flowers? You shouldn't have," Usagi   
began, graciously accepting the bouquet from   
him. It was rather small, but very meaningful   
in respect to her views. Looking more   
carefully, she noticed another aspect about the   
flowers; they were violets. "Pleased to meet   
your acquaintance, Gyokuren-san." She inclined   
her head and curtseyed just for added measure   
and class. "I'm Usagi."  
  
***  
  
Mamoru sighed. At last, that dreaded   
final project was done and over with. He   
recalled all those late nights and long hours   
typing away at his computer, staring into the   
flickering bright screen with tired, red eyes.   
Picking up his heavy textbooks, he left the   
Takumashii University grounds and headed   
straight for his apartment. Thoughts of rest   
and an endless supply of Ramen noodles clouded   
his senses. However, even in his daydreaming,   
the mysterious sound of humming filled the air.   
Gradually, the sweet sound of singing   
interrupted his daydreaming and he shook his   
head to clear his obscured senses. Turning, he   
spotted a cheerful odango atama walking across   
the street, in the opposite direction. Quickly,   
he ran across the street to talk to her.  
He had no idea what had compelled him to   
dodge lightning fast cars during rush hour just   
to talk to Usagi.   
He finally reached the opposite side of   
street and staggered haggardly toward a light   
post to regain his wits and breath. Usagi's   
melodic humming continued, overwhelming his   
thoughts.   
"Usagi!" Mamoru called, catching up to   
her.  
Usagi, humming and oblivious to everything   
around her, was stroking a thin, silken violet   
petal from her bouquet. Only when Mamoru placed   
a palm on her shoulder did she notice that he   
was trying to get her attention.  
"Huh?" Usagi turned, her humming abruptly   
interrupted. Her crystal sapphire eyes met those   
of Mamoru's.   
"What is it, Mamoru-san?" She asked   
quietly, still fiddling with the violets in her   
hands.  
"I just thought I'd say hi," Mamoru began   
lamely, casually leaning on a lamppost,   
thrusting his hands into his pockets. "Haven't   
talked to you in a while, Odango Atama." He   
stood there, waiting for Usagi to give him the   
usual high-pitched lecture and scowl, instead,   
she answered simply, yet distantly.  
"We've been busy," Usagi replied   
indifferently. Mamoru raised a quizzical   
eyebrow. This was not the Usagi he knew.   
"Oh, with what?"   
"Things, Mamoru. Nothing of your   
concern." Usagi said coldly. Somehow, the   
violets she was holding gave her an odd sort of   
comfort that she needed at this time.  
This drew a surprise from Mamoru. This   
was definitely *not* the Usagi he knew. She   
would be raving at him by now for calling her   
odango atama and for prying into her business.  
His stormy blue eyes caught sight of the   
little purple blossoms that she grasped in her   
tiny hands.  
"Violets, Usagi? I didn't think you were   
the type to like those," Mamoru commented   
casually, reaching forward to inspect the   
delicate flowers. As if by instinct, Usagi,   
snatched away the violet bouquet and held it   
closer to her chest. She left Mamoru standing   
there, completely puzzled by her odd behavior.  
"Are you okay, Usagi?" Mamoru asked   
concerned, placing the back of his hand on her   
forehead. However, she batted his hand away   
emotionlessly, and stepped backwards, away from   
him.   
"My welfare is no longer any of your   
business. If you don't mind, Chiba-san, I must   
take my leave. Goodbye." Her voice held a   
certain chill. Her watery blue eyes that used   
to mirror all the good in the world had suddenly   
turned into crystalline ice. Usagi turned her   
heel and stalked away coldly.  
"What did I do?" Mamoru questioned   
himself. He shrugged and conveniently bumped   
into his girlfriend, Ryoko.   
This blond, he figured, rained sunshine   
upon him while the other threw icy daggers to   
him by just merely looking at him. Ryoko's   
voice held a certain tune about it that lulled   
him. In contrast, Usagi's voice held a certain   
iciness that sent chills up his spine through a   
mere whisper. He couldn't believe that it was   
ever possible for Usagi to hold that kind of   
spite within her, let alone the air of coldness   
about her. Turning to Ryoko, he smiled.  
"What's the matter, my prince?" Ryoko   
asked sweetly, absolutely radiating with warmth   
and happiness.   
"Nothing, princess, nothing," Mamoru   
answered, reaching to caress her face. In   
response, she nuzzled the hand lovingly.   
"Are you sure?" She asked, contentedly,   
worry clouded in her chocolate brown eyes.   
Mamoru gathered her up in his arms.   
"Nothing, sweet. It's nothing."   
  
***  
  
Mamoru sat down contentedly, a mug of   
fresh tea warming his hands. He had spent the   
rest of his afternoon with Ryoko, again. Those   
afternoons often times left him cheerful and   
happy. The warmth that Ryoko carried around   
with her seemed to spread to other bystanders,   
namely him. Another happy afternoon with Ryoko.   
He could never get enough of them. He had   
already made dinner plans for them tomorrow at a   
restaurant that served the finest desserts in   
the district.   
He changed and trudged on to his bed,   
avoiding hitting his night table in the dark.   
After pulling the clean linen sheets and   
blankets to his shoulders, he drifted off into a   
deep slumber.   
Once again, he dreamt.   
Beyond in the hazy mists, was a tall   
palace. Silver engraving lined the walls and   
reflected off the luminescence naturally   
emitting from the ground.   
He was once again, Tuxedo Kamen. In his   
hand, he clutched a single rose, free of any   
thorns. As if by instinct, he gazed upwards and   
spotted the balcony that he'd seen so many times   
within this dream. In fact, it had been a while   
since he last dreamed this dream and found   
himself in this particular place. He knew that   
he'd seen his 'princess' again and she would   
finally reveal herself. Although, he knew who   
it would be. It would be none other than Ryoko,   
the girl he was so fond of.  
He spotted a lithe figure above, features   
obscured by the mists. As he approached nearer   
to the balcony, her figure became clearer.   
Although, there was something about this meeting   
that different from all the rest. His princess   
said nothing, instead, the sound of soft   
waltzing music played softly in the background.   
The tune sounded familiar, however, he couldn't   
quite fully recognize it. He looked upon these   
changes as good ones and called out to his   
princess standing in the balcony.  
"Princess!" He cried, articulating his   
voice clearly. "Tell me who you are!" The   
question came naturally to him, since he had   
asked her that same question many, many times.   
He expected to see Ryoko to reveal herself and   
smile down upon him, however, this theory was   
dismissed. Instead of seeing Ryoko's shining   
face and outstretched arms, the princess above   
said nothing. Instead, she remained silent   
until he prompted her again.  
"Tell me who you are!" Tuxedo Kamen cried   
again, hoping to see Ryoko's face.  
"You left me," The princess above said   
quietly, her voice empty. It was barely a   
whisper. The music faded away. "You left me,"   
she repeated, more firmly.   
Tuxedo Kamen was puzzled by this reply.   
He stood where he was, not daring to move.  
"I loved you!" The voice cried, choking   
up with tears. "You left me!" The voice was   
now filled more with despair and sadness than   
accusation. In fact, throughout this entire   
ordeal, the princess had not expressed any anger   
at all.   
"No! I didn't! Tell me who you are!"   
Tuxedo Kamen tried to dismiss her painful cries,   
trying his best to comfort her with the   
knowledge that he hadn't left her. However, he   
couldn't understand why she would act this way.   
He found her, didn't he? And Ryoko loved him.   
The figure above gave one last desperate   
cry before she was engulfed in the thick fog.   
"I *LOVED* you! And you *LEFT ME*!" She   
gave one last cry, filled with all the despair   
and pain she held in her heart.   
The sound of her pain tore at Tuxedo   
Kamen's heart. He reached for the obscuring   
figure once more with an outstretched arm.  
"NOOOOO!!!!!" He yelled to her. His thin   
white mask fell to the ground, revealing two   
stormy blue eyes with tears of desperation   
cornering in the deep depths.   
But his cry was useless, as it echoed into   
the mists. He fell to his knees, sobbing like a   
small child, filled with despair and   
hopelessness. He watched through blurry eyes as   
the palace, the balcony and the figure   
disappeared in the shrouding, dark mists.  
  
***  
  
How was it? Gomen ne, for not updating! Well,   
at least I sent in a double installment! This   
was my attempt at drama…did it work?   
Well, you can send me all your comments to:  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
btw, I set up an updates list a while back;  
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mizuno_updates  
  
Ja!   
-mizu  
  
  
  



	6. Chapter 5 - Crystal Clear

I know you want to read this as soon as   
possible, so the customary notes:  
  
Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko   
Takeuchi, I don't own it.  
  
e-mail: tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
URL: www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami  
  
Chapter 5: Crystal Clear   
  
"They evaded us." A hollow figure voiced   
into the darkness. She took a lock of her red   
hair and began fondling with it between two   
clawed fingers. "Surprising."   
"Yes, they did, my lady," rasped a husky   
tenor voice. A shadowy arm held an open wound   
on it's shoulder.   
She continued to stroke the single, snaky   
lock with her fingers. Her catlike-eyes   
narrowed. "No thanks to you!" She screamed.   
The shadow seemed to shrink away into the   
darkness, trying to cover it's shadowy ears with   
whatever the sailor senshi had left him.   
"You fool!" The woman screamed furiously.   
Her cool contralto voice lifted to a higher   
pitch. "If you hadn't failed, we wouldn't even   
be in this predicament!"   
"My lady," began the shadow. "Please,   
please forgive me!" He begged endlessly,   
dropping lower onto the ground. The tarnished   
stone embedded on his lower ankle appeared.   
Before, it used to shine and gleam with a   
peculiar power planted firmly into the cool   
stone, however, it's green marbled sheen had   
disappeared. Instead, a dull gray-brown stone   
replaced the polished stone.   
"Forgive you?!" She asked incredulously.   
"You used too much power! More than you could   
replenish at the same time! That stone of yours   
couldn't bear that much of an energy drain! How   
could one possibly use that much energy for a   
pitiful squabble! You fool!" The woman cried   
again in a deafening voice.  
"But my lady, they were powerful! They   
threw lightning, fire and, and—"   
"They threw what?" The woman interrupted,   
lowering her voice into a deadly tone.   
"They were powerful! They were—"  
"Answer my question!" She thundered, eyes   
aglow in absolute fury. The shadow nodded   
meekly.  
"Lightening and fire, my lady," The shadow   
answered in a small squeak.  
"Lightening and fire, you said?" She was   
beginning to get interested.  
"Lightning and fire. Yes, my lady."   
The woman tapped her foot thoughtfully,   
once again, fondling with a lock of bright red   
hair. She brushed away her long silk skirts and   
looked at the shadow before her thoughtfully.   
"They weren't wearing a uniform, were   
they?" She asked, lifting up a thin eyebrow.   
The shadow hesitated, then finally nodded,   
confirming his mistress' theory.   
"So, they're real after all." She pursed   
her thin lips, releasing the lock of hair she   
was playing with. Turning her heel, she sighed.  
"No matter," she concluded. "We can evade them   
easily. This factor will show no complication   
to our mission."  
"Yes, my lady," the shadow bowed gravely.  
"However, as for you…" she drawled,   
looking dangerously at the wounded figure before   
her. Her bright eyes grew wide gleamed briefly.   
Raising her clawed hand, she motioned casually,   
a sadistic smile appearing on her face. A surge   
of power focused at her clawed finger appeared   
as a huge, green light ball and shot forth   
toward her underling.  
The sound of a marble stone cracking was   
gradually swallowed up by loud maniacal   
laughter.  
  
***  
  
"This is odd," murmured Ami, amidst the   
clacking sounds of her rapid typing. She   
frowned and paused to check the connection   
between her mercury computer pad and her PC.   
"What is it, Ami?" Luna rose from her   
snug napping position on the soft, thick rug and   
pounced on the polished hard wood desk. She   
made a muffled padding sound as she landed. She   
craned her neck around the monitor curiously.   
She was confronted by a number of charts and   
graphs on the glowing screen.  
"I'm trying to get the statistics for the   
new monster attacks," replied Ami, getting up to   
check the connections behind her PC. "This week   
has been hectic. Four attacks!"   
"What are you using the statistics for?"   
Artemis walked demurely through the open door   
way. Something colorful on the desk caught his   
attention. Curiously, he crept closer to the   
object and pounced on the table quietly.  
"Oh, hello Artemis. Mina-chan let you out   
today?" Ami asked, thoroughly engrossed in her   
task of connecting wires.   
Artemis, meanwhile, began to rummage   
through the contents neatly arranged on the work   
desk, leaving an array of disorder behind him.   
"Yeah. She said something about this cute guy   
in the park and didn't want me to destroy her   
chances." Artemis scowled. He never did   
anything to affect Mina-chan's dating life!   
Well, except for that time when he decided to   
play hide and seek with his foot, scaring the   
wits out of the poor boy. And that time when he   
had *forgotten* that Mina-chan *was*, in fact,   
allergic to certain rare wild flowers and he   
*did* take the liberty to roll around in them   
before jumping into her arms. Soon, after,   
Minako was left sneezing for the entire day,   
without being able to complete a full sentence   
before sneezing again. All that came out were   
incoherent fragments. And, there was also that   
time when…   
Artemis shrugged. So he did destroy some   
of Mina-chan's chances with men. At least, he   
convinced himself, that he didn't do it every   
day—just every week or so.  
"Artemis! You're making a mess!" Luna   
scolded. Artemis retrieved himself from his   
thoughts and began to obediently push the blue   
stapler back where it was with his pink-padded   
forepaws.   
"Sheesh! Ragging on me again!" Muttered   
Artemis, looking for the tape dispenser.  
"What was that?" Luna asked, eyes   
gleaming dangerously. She was prepared to   
unsheathe her claws if needed.   
"I think I've got it!" Ami cried, as she   
discovered a breakthrough. She reconnected the   
wires quickly before returning to her PC and   
Mercury computer. She began to type vigorously   
at her PC, increasing her pace every second.   
Suddenly, a beep sounded from the PC. Ami let   
out a sigh of relief.   
"Is that all? A beep?" Artemis asked.   
He was quickly rewarded with an irate glare from   
Luna.   
"Quiet!" She reprimanded before turning   
her head back at the computer screen.  
"Okay, what I've been doing is trying to   
figure out a pattern for these attacks. It   
seems that these attacks go by an inverse   
variation." She smiled. "I guess shadows can   
be mathematicians at the same time."   
"So, what do you conclude?" Luna asked   
inquisitively.   
"Well, with these calculations and this   
simple formula I've devised, we can find out   
where they will attack next."  
"Which is?" Artemis remarked   
impatiently. Ami cleared her throat, continuing   
on with her findings. She switched to her   
Mercury computer and punched in a few figures.  
"Here," she said, pointing to a blinking   
light on the small screen.   
"But that's…" Luna gasped.  
"Takumashii University," replied Ami   
calmly.  
Artemis narrowed his eyes. "It's only a   
matter of time when they will attack again."   
"We'll be ready for them."  
  
***  
  
Usagi, yet again, was found trekking up   
the tall hill that lead toward the white-washed   
observatory. She paused midway and collapsed to   
regain her breath.  
She had no idea why she would go to all   
these lengths. However, the company she found   
up there was rather nice and refreshing.   
She found Gyokuren waiting by the door,   
with his arms crossed across his chest.   
"Usagi-san!" He greeted, helping her up   
the stairs. The poor girl was tired, he could   
tell. However, she managed to hide it under   
that bright sunny smile of hers.  
"Gyo-kun!" She said cheerfully, reaching   
for his outstretched arm. "Nice to see you   
again!"   
He mirrored her smile. "There's a café   
down there that serves drinks. Want to go   
there?" He invited, pointing toward a general   
direction.   
"Where?" She questioned, trying to look   
for the small building. Gyokuren laughed.  
"You can't see it from here, silly. It's   
too small."   
"Gyo-kun?" Usagi begged, extending the   
syllables. "Couldn't we rest for just a   
*little* bit?" She raised her hand and measured   
about a millimeter between her thumb and index   
finger.   
Gyokuren cocked an eyebrow mischievously.   
"I don't know, Usagi-san. But I heard that they   
serve the best chocolate cake there…"   
The keyword, *chocolate* registered into   
Usagi's mind and her eyes began to sparkle with   
a certain child likeness. Immediately, she   
began dragging Gyokuren down the hill   
impatiently.  
"Come on, Gyo-kun! We don't want it to be   
sold out when we get there!"   
The two happily made their way down the   
path in a rapid pace—courtesy of Usagi's   
eagerness, of course.   
  
***  
  
"What in the world was bothering Usagi?"   
Mamoru pondered, trying to figure out why she   
had been so cold to her that day. He refused to   
think about his dream. Needless to say, it   
shocked him and he was afraid to face that   
mysterious figure in his dreams. He hated it   
when he couldn't help someone.   
"Maybe Usagi is mad at me for something,"   
he thought, drumming his fingers on the polished   
table in the patio.   
In the distance, he could hear a very   
familiar, melodic laughter.  
"Usagi?!" He gasped. He turned, and   
there, just a few tables away, was where the   
laughter emanated from. Sunlight bounced upon   
her stray golden curls and formed the classic   
halo over her blond head. Her back was toward   
him and she seemed to be alone.   
Gingerly, he picked up his ceramic coffee   
mug and made his way through the other customers   
and tables to the origins of the musical   
laughter.   
Usagi, completely unaware of all her   
surroundings, sipped her hot chocolate   
contentedly. Before her was an empty plate—an   
empty plate that once held a large, moist piece   
of chocolate cake.   
"Well, chocolate cake from this café is   
definitely going on my list of favorites!" She   
sighed and attempted to drink more of the hot   
chocolate without burning herself.   
Mamoru reached forward and tapped gently   
on Usagi's shoulder. She jerked. He had caught   
her by surprise. She turned to confront him.  
"What are you doing here?" She asked,   
almost accusingly. She dropped her spoon on the   
small saucer and stared at Mamoru questioningly.   
Mamoru was yet again, taken aback by her   
icy expression. The Usagi he spotted, was   
laughing and there seemed to be this golden aura   
about her. Now, this looming dark cloud hung   
about her, blotting out her sunlight.   
"Anyone with you?" He asked, almost   
cautiously.  
"What is it to you?" She bit back, taking   
another sip from her cup.  
"Touchy touchy…" Mamoru remarked. "Can I   
sit here?" He asked, indicating to the adjacent   
to hers. She looked over the rim of her cup,   
raising an eyebrow.   
"Do what you will," she said plainly,   
voice muffled by the cup. She returned her   
attention to her hot chocolate once more.  
"Usagi—" he began, unsure of how to begin.   
"Yes?" She asked, still hiding in her   
cup. She refused to face him.   
Mamoru glanced at her hopefully before he   
began.   
"Usagi, I can tell something is bothering   
you. Would you mind talking about it? I rarely   
see you alone when you go to a restaurant and—"   
"It's a café," she stated simply.   
"That's off topic Usagi." He paused,   
taking a sip out of his own mug. "Anyway," he   
continued. "Has someone done something to hurt   
you?" He asked. He figured that if she   
wouldn't tell him, he might as well pry it out   
of her until she did.  
She froze, but regained her composure and   
remained sipping out of her cup. Within, she   
laughed bitterly, thinking of what an   
understatement it was. At this rate, she'd run   
out of hot chocolate very soon. But, this was   
an extra large cup, so quantity wasn't that much   
of a problem.  
"That is—" She began, reaching for an   
extra packet of sugar. She put the contents of   
the packet in whatever remaining hot chocolate   
was left in her cup.   
"None of my concern," interrupted Mamoru.   
"I know, I know." He raised his hands   
resignedly. "But I just want to help." There   
was almost this yearning in his voice.   
Something that perked Usagi's curiosity.   
"You've helped enough," came her sarcastic   
reply. "Trust me, you've helped plenty…" Her   
voice trailed away. She reached for her fallen   
spoon on the saucer. Gently, she placed it into   
the cup and stirred mechanically.   
"What do you mean, Usagi?"   
"Well, you should at least have the   
decency to figure it out for yourself!" The   
cloud above her got a little darker and   
gloomier. Mamoru blinked. He thought he saw   
lightning coming from those same clouds.   
"So I did do something wrong," he mused,   
taking a sizable gulp from his coffee cup. "You   
won't tell me what it is?"   
"Never mind."   
"Why?"  
"I said, *NEVER MIND*."  
Thunder began to rumble.   
"Usagi, a clue?" Mamoru asked, almost   
childishly. That soft look that appeared in his   
azure depths made him look simply adorable. The   
same look that you would find in a mischievous   
child or a curious kitten prodding a ball of   
spun wool for the first time. The way that the   
hair fell over his eyes made him seem like that   
curious kitten, popping up dreamily from the   
pile of unraveled wool. She paused and their   
eyes met momentarily.   
For that one moment, she lost control and   
her defenses dropped, exposing the real Usagi.   
The same, vulnerable, hurting and healing Usagi   
within.   
She pulled back, as if he had ripped down   
her defenses and intruded into her mind.   
Mamoru, on the other hand, gasped, surprised.   
Those, cold, hard, crystalline eyes just   
suddenly melted before his gaze. Her soft ocean   
blue eyes were misty. They were soft as rose   
petal, and for that one moment, Mamoru saw the   
same eyes that only saw all the good in the   
world. However, this time, there were mixed   
feeling intertwined in those depths.   
Depression, sadness, anger, fear, and that same   
icy coldness that would bite him every so often.   
However, those clear, blue pools froze again,   
denying him access to her feelings.   
"Usagi," he said, reaching out an arm to   
comfort her.   
"It's Tsukino-san," she replied coolly,   
resenting that he had intruded upon her most   
delicate emotions.   
"Usagi, come on—"  
"Tsukino-san," she corrected, going back   
into her cup. She refused to meet his eyes.   
She would not go through another unveiling like   
that again.   
"Usagi-san!" Another voice cried from   
beyond the crowds. "I managed to get another   
piece of cake for you!" The voice got louder as   
the figure approached.   
Gyokuren popped from the busy crowds, a   
plate of chocolate cake raised above his head,   
as if to protect it. Usagi turned and smiled,   
reaching for the cake.   
"Arigato, Gyo-kun!" She thanked,   
cheerfully. Her gaze lingered for a brief   
moment before she picked up her fork and happily   
consumed the cake.   
Mamoru froze and sputtered in his coffee.   
Gyo-kun? Who was this? He pondered, eyeing the   
stranger that had just set himself down near   
Usagi.   
"Oh? I don't remember seeing you here   
before?" Gyokuren said, smiling politely. He   
extended his hand in greeting. "I'm Gyokuren.   
I'm an astronomer in training."   
"An astronomer?" Mamoru nodded absently.   
However, even after Gyokuren's brief   
introduction, he still wanted to know who this   
man was. Politely, he took Gyokuren's hand and   
shook it.  
"Chiba Mamoru," Mamoru replied.   
"Chiba-san, nice to meet you."   
"Nice to meet you too," he managed to say   
casually. Gyokuren took the other seat beside   
Usagi and put an arm around her shoulders   
protectively. Usagi paused for a moment, then   
settled back into her cake.   
"Well, I should be taking my leave."   
Mamoru picked up his now-empty coffee cup.   
"Good bye, Gyokuren, Usa-Tsukino-san," he   
corrected himself.   
"Chiba-san," Gyokuren nodded, before   
Mamoru rose from his seat and left.   
"Nice person," Gyokuren commented, staring   
toward the direction that Mamoru had left.   
Usagi paused again in her eating and   
glared at Gyokuren. She proceeded to look at   
the arm that was slung around her. She lifted a   
quizzical eyebrow at Gyokuren and merely   
shrugged before returning to her food.   
  
***  
  
I don't know if cats are attracted to bright   
colors… but just because it's Artemis, let's   
just leave him be, ne? And I also don't know   
what Minako is allergic to, if she is at all…   
  
Anyways, many thanks goes out to Antigone and   
Eternal Angel! You've been so nice!   
  
Of course, as always, thanks to Andrea for   
putting up this fanfiction in the first place.   
Arigato!  
  
Comments, Questions, Flames? e-mail to:  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
URL: www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami  
  
Ja!  
-mizu  



	7. Chapter 6 - Of Dreams & Wishes

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko   
Takeuchi. I don't own it.   
  
Comments? Questions? Flames? e-mail to:  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
URL: www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami  
ML: www.groups.yahoo.com/group/mizuno_updates  
  
Fate's Will  
Chapter 6: Of Dreams and Wishes  
  
  
"Gyo-kun?! Where are we going?" Usagi   
asked for what seemed like the umpteenth time.   
She had never ventured into this part of Tokyo   
before, even though she was born and raised in   
the city.   
Silently, Gyokuren opened the door to his   
sleek, black automobile to fetch her out. He   
extended his hand gallantly to her, while   
flashing another one of his shining, winsome   
smiles to her. Now what girl could resist   
*that* particular gesture?   
Smiling meekly, Usagi placed her dainty   
hand into his as he hoisted her up from the   
front seat of the car. She had the very strong   
urge to curtsey to him good-naturedly...   
"Now will you tell me where we're going?"   
She fumbled around for him as the car lights   
were completely shut off. Finding his arm, she   
settled there comfortably, letting him lead the   
way. She could see nothing in the darkness and   
there were no lights to illumine their way. She   
put her conscience to rest with the knowledge   
that she was with Gyokuren and that he would   
never let any harm come to her. Besides, she   
*was* Sailor Moon, wasn't she?   
Gyokuren chuckled in response, however he   
held his tongue. Usagi could be very stubborn   
at times, although that was one of the traits   
that he liked about her. Silently, he lead her   
up a steep hill, hearing her pout into the   
darkness.   
After what seemed like eternity, Usagi   
collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily in   
exhaustion. *This* hill was worse than the hill   
leading to the observatory. How *does* Gyokuren   
do it? She eyed his calm face disgustedly.   
"You know, you could at least *pretend* to   
hyperventilate." She poked at him with a slim   
finger. However, he just led her to a spot on   
the hill and promptly sat them both down.   
Usagi gasped audibly, her eyes glowing as   
if she were a child placed in a room full of   
candy and toys. Gyokuren glanced at her,   
watching her eyes light with an innocent joy.   
Reflecting into Usagi's large, crystal eyes was   
a city, Tokyo, alight and *alive*. Although her   
surroundings were silent, save for the   
occasional breeze that would sweep by them, she   
could almost hear the sounds of the cars,   
people, and animals. She had never seen her   
home in this perspective before and she seemed   
almost...awed by the magnificent view on the   
hill.   
Only when Gyokuren prodded her shoulder   
did she awoke from her dreamlike gaze.   
"Huh?" She mumbled softly, glancing at   
him in question. Immediately, he raised his   
hand and pointed upwards in quietly. Usagi   
obediently gazed upwards.  
Across the sky, from never-ending edge to   
never-ending edge, the thick blanket of night   
stretched endlessly into eternity. Stars   
speckled upon the dark mantle, seeming so small   
and insignificant as the other. However, they   
all shone with their own individual radiance, as   
if each frequency was much like their   
distinctive signature. Gyokuren understood this   
concept well.   
Usagi sat there, dumbfounded. Many a   
night, she sat by her open window, gazing out   
into the clear night sky. However, most of the   
time, her attention was drawn toward the glowing   
moon. She never did take the time to really   
admire the many stars about and their splendor.   
"They're quite beautiful, ne, Usagi-chan?"   
Gyokuren nudged. Usagi nodded absently, her   
bright eyes traveling from star to star.  
"It's like a mirror," she commented   
softly. "...reflecting the city below."   
Gyokuren nodded in agreement. "Usagi-  
chan? You do that too."  
"Huh?" She muttered, uncomprehending.   
She cocked a thin eyebrow at her blond friend.   
"Your eyes," he answered, unwavering.   
"They're so full of life. Just like the city.   
Almost as if, you reflect the city." He paused   
and chuckled lightly. "You must think I'm   
nuts..." he trailed off into the darkness,   
running his fingers gruffly through his mop of   
tawny hair.   
"What a romantic notion," Usagi remarked,   
ignoring the last phrase Gyokuren had just   
muttered. "Never thought of it that way. Never   
had a guy say *that* to me before. Quite   
frankly, I'm kinda flattered. Arigato, Gyo-  
kun," she thanked Gyokuren, who was gaping at   
her blankly.   
"You mean you've never had a guy say that   
to you?" He was more or less shocked out of his   
shoes.   
"No," Usagi responded simply, twiddling   
one of her ponytails. "Hey, it's not like I   
don't want anyone to!" She exclaimed quickly,   
shaking Gyokuren out of his stupor.   
"Ah...so, you like someone, don't you?"   
Gyokuren pointed out playfully. Usagi gasped,   
undignified.   
"Where did you get *that* idea from?" She   
questioned, taken aback by Gyokuren's prompt   
theory.   
"Well, you did say that you wanted someone   
to compliment on your beauty..."  
"I did not!" She retorted hotly, glaring   
at Gyokuren irritably. She could feel her   
cheeks burning in a deep flush.   
"All right then Usagi-chan, if you don't   
want to admit it..."   
"Gyo-kun!" She squealed, butting her   
shoulder in a mini-tackle at him playfully.   
In response, Gyokuren raised his hands up   
in surrender. "Okay, okay, I give up!" He   
declared, however, Usagi was still not   
satisfied.   
"Do you?" She inquired in a sly tone.   
"Usagi-chan? What else do you want from   
me?"   
Usagi lifted a finger to her chin and   
tapped thoughtfully. "Oh, I don't   
know...although a hot chocolate from a certain   
place seems very much in order..." She trailed   
off, letting Gyokuren register in her subtle   
request.  
Gyokuren sighed, resigned. "All right,   
all right, let's go to the café..."   
Usagi gave him a charming little smile.  
  
***  
  
  
"So Usagi?"   
"Yes?" Usagi replied between sips of her   
hot chocolate. She loved the way the rich fluid   
seemed to tickle her tastebuds. The liquid felt   
like warm velvet in her mouth. She stared down   
into the mug at the swirling liquid   
contentedly.   
"You remember the last time we came here?"   
Usagi nodded fervently, as if remembering   
the taste of that rich, moist cake she'd   
ordered.   
"You remember we were a   
little...interrupted, by someone?"   
Her eyes darkened momentarily before she   
nodded hesitantly.   
That's it, Gyokuren thought, take it   
slowly. She won't get *too* flustered over it.   
"Mamoru? Was it?" Gyokuren felt like he   
was entering into unknown territory-private   
territory. The type that bore a sign hanging on   
a rusting gate that read, "NO TRESSPASSING".   
Gulping, Gyokuren continued with his mild   
interrogation.   
"What about it?" Snapped Usagi   
unexpectedly. She refused to meet his gray-blue   
gaze. This was a topic she definitely did not   
want to enter into. However, Gyokuren was   
relentless and ventured into subject   
nevertheless.   
"Usagi-chan?" He began, hoping that the   
soft approach was the way to go. "The topic is   
bothering you, isn't it? I've never seen you so   
upset the other day when we saw him."  
"It's nothing," she responded, regaining   
her normal composure. She giggled just for   
extra measure, however, it came out as a nervous   
laugh instead. "Just leave the topic, Gyo-kun."   
Gyokuren shook his head firmly. "I know   
that it's bothering you, and you're running away   
from it."   
Still, she drooped her head, reluctant to   
meet his questioning gaze. Why couldn't he   
leave this topic alone?   
"Usagi-chan? Did he hurt you in a certain   
way?" Prying wasn't one of Gyokuren's favorite   
pastimes, however, he figured that if this topic   
wasn't brought out into the open, Usagi's happy   
demeanor would always have this dark shadow   
looming above.   
Usagi nodded silently.  
"Did he insult you?"   
A wry smile came to her pink lips as she   
nodded wordlessly again.  
"Did he steal something from you?"   
"Not really," she replied.  
"Not really…" Mused Gyokuren. "Did he   
hurt you physically?"   
"Not really," she repeated monotonously.   
"Mentally? Emotionally?"   
Nod.  
What kind of person would try to   
extinguish the sunshine in Usagi? Pondered   
Gyokuren. A surge of protectiveness flooded his   
awareness. He returned his gaze to the still-  
drooping Usagi. He reached forward to grasp her   
chin gently, forcing her to meet his gaze.   
"What did he do to you, Usagi?" He   
demanded in an almost silent voice. He would   
not leave her without an answer.  
"Gyokuren, please, it…" she hesitated,   
eyes glistening. "…it, it still hurts. It's   
taken me a while to put away the pain."   
Moisture began to form in her beautiful cerulean   
eyes, tears of pain. "Please, please, don't let   
it resurface. I don't know if I can survive   
another bout with it." She begged.  
His heart broke to see her in this state,   
the tears threatening to fall down her   
porcelain-white cheeks. Her knuckles were an   
icy-white, clutching the skirt she wore,   
wrinkling the fabric.   
"Let it out, Usagi-chan. It's never going   
away unless you confront it," Gyokuren stated   
firmly. He was too stubborn to let this topic   
drop. He cared too much for Usagi to let her   
carry the burden by herself. She paused,   
uncertain, however, began when Gyokuren nodded   
reassuringly.   
"Mamoru…well, Mamoru, he—" she stammered,   
not knowing how to begin.   
"It's okay, Usagi-chan, I'm listening,"   
Gyokuren smiled warmly in encouragement. "Speak   
from the heart. It'll tell you exactly what to   
say."  
She nodded. He was correct. All this   
time she was neglecting what her heart said.   
The last time she listened within the depths of   
her being, she was wounded. To this day, she   
still cradled her injured heart.   
"Mamoru and I get into a lot of fights.   
Although, his insults do get to me, it just   
wouldn't be the same without those daily bouts   
that we have every morning. You understand what   
I mean?"  
It was Gyokuren's turn to nod silently.   
He nudged her to continue on.   
"It's almost like, I put a part of me into   
those fights." She smiled softly, recalling the   
last time she fought with him. The random   
shouting of 'baka!' and 'odango atama' could be   
heard by every passerby. "Not that I would   
prefer the fights," she amended. "I guess…"   
She took a glimpse of the glittering stars   
through the clear glass window of the café   
before continuing. "I guess it was a way to be   
around him. He's mysterious, cryptic most of   
the time. Won't tell anything about himself to   
anyone. However, for some odd reason, being   
around him almost feels…" She searched for the   
proper word in her vocabulary to fit the   
description. "secure," she said with a tone of   
finality. Gyokuren was right, letting her   
feelings out was a good idea after all.  
"So what happened?" Gyokuren asked   
curiously. Prodding deeper into the delicate   
subject.   
"One day, I dropped by into the arcade to   
say hello to Motoki—the owner—and get my daily   
dosage of chocolate milkshake." The word   
'chocolate' registered into her senses and she   
suddenly had the urge to find some. However,   
this conversation, as much as she didn't want to   
admit it, was far more important than satisfying   
her sweet tooth.   
"I saw, I saw…" She stuttered, recalling   
the events from that fateful day. A very vivid   
picture was being painted in her head. Her   
throat felt tight and dry as she took a sizable   
gulp from her mug. She managed to put down the   
ceramic mug with shaking hands. She grasped her   
skirt again to quell the anxiety and pain.   
"What did you see, Usagi-chan?"   
Gyokuren's gaze bore into hers once more.   
"I saw him and, and…HER!"  
"Her? Who was she?"   
"I, I don't know!" she uttered   
apprehensively. "I haven't the slightest clue!   
But they sat down and they, they—"  
"What did they do Usagi-chan?"   
Teardrops spilled down her cheeks as she   
replied in a tear-choked voice,   
  
"THEY KISSED!"   
  
Some of the other customers turned around   
to see the commotion coming from the front of   
the café. Gyokuren raised his hand in apology   
as they shrugged and returned to their own   
rendezvous'.  
"Gomen—Gomen ne!" Usagi apologized as she   
accepted a tissue from Gyokuren.   
"It's okay Usagi-chan," he soothed,   
watching her wipe up the heavy tears. "And   
their kissing bothered you?"   
Moment of truth.  
"Yes," came the soft reply. "Yes! It   
did!" Her voice increased several decibels.   
"I see…" Gyokuren nodded to the waitress   
for the check as he contemplated what Usagi had   
just told him. "Don't worry, Usagi-chan," he   
reassured, patting her gently on the shoulder.   
Her frame still shook with her crying. "I'll be   
here for you. I won't let you carry the burden   
yourself."   
"Gyokuren?" She looked up from the   
already-crumpled tissue as he handed her   
another.   
"Hm?" He questioned.  
"Arigato."   
  
***  
  
Elsewhere, in the mysterious murky voids,   
a woman twirled a red tendril between   
her claws thoughtfully.   
She paused, her eyes gleamed in   
determination.  
"Noi, Shin, Tenki, COME FORTH!" She   
roared. Immediately, three shadows came forth,   
all bearing a polished stone in various places.   
The shadow known as 'Noi' came forward, a bright   
amethyst stone embedded in her lower arm.   
"Yes, my lady?" She bowed respectfully.   
"What do you need from us?"   
"I want you to gather more energy."  
"Where my lady?" The female shadow   
queried.  
"A place called…Takumashii University."  
"It'd be logical, since it would be the   
next most populated place," agreed the female   
shadow.  
"If you encounter the Sailor Senshi,   
destroy them," their superior commanded in a   
deadly voice.   
"The Senshi?" Another shadow gasped. "I   
didn't think they existed in this time." He   
mused.   
"It's a simple enough task! What's to   
question?!" The woman shrieked, voice echoing   
into the empty void. "You know what will come   
to you if you fail."   
The third shadow, stepped forward, nodding   
gravely. "Yes my lady," he muttered quietly.   
He knew better than to question *her* orders.   
Idiot brother, he muttered under his breath, all   
brawn and no brains… He thought resignedly.   
The three stood before their superior and   
bowed before retreating back into the darkness.   
"Three shadows…" brooded the woman, who   
was once again, left in the void. "They will do   
the job for me." An evil smile crept up on her   
sharp features, full of malicious intent.   
She finally rose into the air and   
disappeared in a flourish of green light.   
  
***  
  
Done! Finally! After…erm…three weeks?   
EEP! *dodges tomato* okay, okay, so I was a   
little late…EEP! *dodges another tomato* Hey!   
Don't waste food! *barely dodges flying anime   
mallet* AHHH!!! Who's throwing those anyway?   
*crickets chirp*   
*mizu sweatdrops*   
  
I'm hoping for the next chapter to Edge of   
Dreams to come out next week—well, either that   
or this… Unless I completely forget to write   
something…  
  
Anyway, to ea-san, Antigone-san, Aimee, Angela,   
Mal, Lady, ruka-chan, kawaiiluv, scutter, patch,   
megs, alina-san, fushigi kismet, and anyone else   
I've forgotten—gomen ne! *bows in apology*,   
arigato minna-san, for the encouragement and   
swift kicks in the shins for continuing my   
writing! Arigato!!!   
  
And as always, namida (or as I like to put it,   
*nami-chan*) for the constant prodding for the   
next chapter and the encouragement. (Otherwise,   
this'd never be out…) ;)   
  
Also, (a little promotion for Angela and Aimee   
here…) on Saturdays and Sundays, 7 CST, Angela   
and Aimee host a chat session at their website:  
  
www.geocities.com/moonlit_eclipse  
  
in the java chat room. Please come if you're   
interested! ;)  
  
A little change this time from my regular   
message:  
  
E-MAIL! E-MAIL! E-MAIL! ;)  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
URL: www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami  
  
Ja!   
-mizu   
  



	8. Chapter 7 - Illusions

Oi…Long time no write, ne minna-san? ::backs   
away from angry group of readers:: hehe… ^^;;   
::laughs nervously:: I came up with this,   
right? RIGHT?! Anyway, I had to make this   
story go somewhere, so I took a good long break   
to do that…   
  
Many thanks to those who e-mailed me!   
  
e-mail: tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
URL: www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami  
ML: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mizuno_updates  
  
  
Chapter 7: Illusions  
  
Sweat beaded along the side of a certain   
Shinto priestess as she stood before a raging   
hearth. Her eyes were shut tightly in   
concentration rather from the heat, lips   
stretched thinly across her parched lips in   
chanting prayer.   
Earlier, she'd caught a slight glimpse of   
an evil aura, very close to the proximity the   
Juuban district. It was very brief and she'd   
decided to leave the thought be. Her Senshi   
side, however, demanded that she question all   
evil things, however minuscule the feeling might   
have been.   
Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, revealing   
striking violet depths. The sweat upon her brow   
had suddenly felt cold. A chilling breeze   
managed to wedge itself through a tiny crack by   
the entrance of the meditation room. For some   
reason, even by the comforting flames of her   
meditation fire, Rei felt that breeze chill up   
her spine.   
Through those paper-parched lips of hers,   
she uttered one word in a fearful voice…  
"Takumashii…"   
  
***  
  
Mamoru paced about his room. He grabbed a   
shirt lying in a nearby chair and placed it over   
his shoulders. Insomnia was the reason for his   
edginess. His pacing caused creaks to resonate   
in the small room.   
I'd better stop, he thought. The   
neighbors aren't going to be too happy with   
noise at night.   
For almost all his life, he could remember   
those dreams. Dreams of a silhouetted princess   
begging him, *needing* him. She called out to   
him constantly and he usually woke up with a   
puzzled look spread across his face. However,   
for the last few weeks, ever since that…that   
*dream*, he felt an odd detachment. He even   
stopped having those dreams that he had become   
so familiar with. They were so routine that   
they had built themselves into his character,   
his life. When they disappeared so abruptly,   
they left a vacant spot in his being, his   
nature.  
Mamoru took a seat by the bed, not caring   
if the sheets fell to the ground or not. He   
fixed his eyes on the bright orb above, his   
blurry vision of the moon finally lulling him to   
sleep.   
"Where are you?" He whispered, eyes shut,   
before he fell back into a dreamless sleep.   
  
  
***  
  
"I love it!" Usagi squealed, exploring   
her surroundings. She stared upwards in awe,   
eyes shining innocently in the dim lights.   
"There's so many of them!" She twirled about,   
eyes never leaving the objects above her.   
Gyokuren braced on arm on a crimson padded   
chair and smiled casually. "I'm glad," he   
stated simply, watching Usagi plop down on a   
seat in childlike wonder. "I'm surprised you've   
never been to a planetarium," he mused quietly,   
eyes never leaving the little blond sprite   
before him. "I literally grew up in these   
places."   
He glanced upwards at the twinkling lights   
above in the darkened dome-shaped room. The   
artificial stars seemed to flash at him,   
greeting him. For some reason, his frequent   
visits to the planetarium provided him a mellow   
comfort that real stars could not during the   
daylight hours.   
Usagi turned to him, eyes still aglow.   
"How did you find about this place?" She placed   
her head across the top of the seat backing,   
bracing herself on the arm rests. Her blond   
hair spilled down the side of the seat, coating   
it with the golden color of her hair. Under the   
meager light, it too seemed to radiate just as   
vibrantly as her bubbly personality did.   
Gyokuren chuckled lightly. Goodness, she   
was a beautiful sight, but…her heart was not   
with him, nor would it ever be. He knew where   
she belonged, and it wasn't in his arms.   
Yesterday's conversation at the café, her tears,   
her voice, her anguish told him more that she   
could understand herself. No, he shook his   
head. She was a beautiful star, twinkling in   
the night sky, and out of his grasp.  
"I don't even remember, Usagi-chan." He   
paused and pursed his lips together in   
remembrance of his first visit. "Although, I   
started to come in these places when I was very   
young…perhaps four or five. This place is close   
to Takumashii, so I can come here during my   
lunches."   
An image of a chibi Gyokuren came to mind   
as Usagi listened to him. Giggling good-  
heartedly, she pictured him ten times shorter,   
raising his arm in an attempt to reach the   
twinkling little lights above. A mop of   
ruffled, light blond hair would cover his eyes,   
a sign that he was in dire need of a hair cut.   
His chubby hand would try to pick at the lights   
unsuccessfully, but he knew one day, he would   
find a way to pick those jewels in they sky. An   
ambitious little creature, he would be.   
Usagi sighed. Any girl would love to be   
with him. Such a caring heart…a prince charming   
indeed. She sighed again, feeling her heart   
flutter ever so slightly. She wished the best   
for him. The image of chibi Gyokuren seemed to   
amuse her as it came back into her mind.   
However, this strange smacking sound was in the   
background as the child in her mind tried to   
pick another star from the sky. She tried to   
ignore the smacking sound, concentrating more on   
the little figure trying to play with stars,   
however, try as she might, the sound would not   
leave the recesses of her imagination.   
She blinked, frowning, the image of chibi   
Gyokuren vanishing from her mind's eye. The   
smacking sound becoming more prominent. She   
looked at Gyokuren, who seemed to be preoccupied   
with a scene before him. She too, looked in the   
direction that captured his attention. A large   
frown seemed to cover his features as well.   
There, on the other extreme side of the   
row of seats were a couple busy in an embrace.   
"Awfully loud, ne?" Usagi frowned again,   
furrowing her eyebrows.   
"Yeah. The acoustics in this place are   
great," remarked Gyokuren shaking his head. No   
respect…besides, *who* would make out in a   
planetarium, of all places?   
Usagi leaned forward, attempting to make   
out the couple in their heated embrace. A   
reddish hue spread across her pale cheeks.   
They watched as the couple broke their   
embrace, gawking at them like tourists. Usagi   
watched as one stroked the other's cheek   
tenderly as they tightened their grasp over each   
other.   
Suddenly, the one of them looked up,   
piercing eyes staring right at their unwanted   
observers.   
Usagi and Gyokuren gasped in unison, faces   
becoming red as a cherry tomato. Usagi squinted   
at the couple, making out their features in the   
dim light of the dome-shaped chamber.   
"Mamoru?" She whispered, surprised.  
"Usagi," he whispered as well. Ryoko gave   
him her concerned face, turning his face away   
from the person behind her with her fingers.   
She raised her eyebrows. Usagi? Who's Usagi?   
Turning, her chestnut eyes met those that   
mirrored the oceans.   
They gazed at each other momentarily,   
looking each other over questioningly. The girl   
at the arcade…murmured Usagi. She blinked,   
breaking their eye contact, shaking her head to   
clear it of the confusion raging within.   
"Gyokuren, let's go." She took his arm   
and tried to drag him away from the dark dome   
room. However, the man was firmly planted in   
his spot. "Gyo-kun!" She reprimanded, dragging   
him away inch by inch. However, her attempts at   
avoiding another confrontation with Mamoru   
disappeared from her grasp. She raised eyes   
from their observation of the carpet underneath   
to face a couple linking hands before her.   
"Hello Mamoru," she heard Gyokuren greet   
cordially. "It's nice to see you."  
"Gyokuren," Mamoru grit out between   
clenched teeth. He turned to the blond with   
odangos planted firmly on her head. "Usagi."   
Usagi nodded mutely, not meeting his gaze.   
"Mamoru, won't you introduce me?" Usagi   
heard the other woman say while tugging at   
Mamoru's sleeve.   
"Gomen," he murmured to her, smiling   
warmly. "This is Ryoko," he motioned toward his   
lady friend. "…and this is Gyokuren and Usagi,"   
he gestured likewise to the pair before him.   
His eyes lingered on Usagi for a while before he   
shook his head free of the illusion.   
"Pleased to meet you, Gyokuren, Usagi,"   
Ryoko greeted warmly, plastering her signature   
sweet smile on her face.   
The four stared at each other awkwardly   
for a moment, as if they were collecting data.   
"Well, this is certainly…odd," Gyokuren   
managed to utter, breaking the uncomfortable   
silence between them.   
"Gyo-kun, we've got to go," Usagi said in   
a small voice. She tugged on her arm to   
illustrate her meaning. Gyokuren nodded, and   
together, they inched their way to the entrance   
to the star room.   
"Wait, Usagi! I need to talk to you!"   
Mamoru called out to their retreating forms.   
His muffled footsteps seemed to resonate in the   
dome just as well as his voice did. He grasped   
Usagi's arm as she turned her blond head   
reflexively.   
"Mamoru, I don't want to talk to you," she   
whispered firmly, undoing his fingers from her   
arm. He only grasped more firmly.   
"I really *need* to talk to you," he   
hissed, indigo eyes aflame.   
"No, you don't. You've got Ryoko to talk   
to," she said aloud, cerulean eyes dimmed. "You   
don't need me," she stated more firmly than   
she'd intended to.   
"But!"   
Despite Mamoru's protests, Usagi tugged   
Gyokuren along. Those tears were attempting to   
resurface again and it took all of her will to   
quell the strange feelings dancing at the pit of   
her stomach. Both she and Gyokuren left the   
dome, and Mamoru. She'd be free of him—for now.   
A beeping noise disturbed her from her   
pondering. She recognized the familiar sound to   
be the Senshi communicator. She paused in her   
steps, smiling winsomely at an extremely puzzled   
Gyokuren.   
"Uh…pager. It's probably mom. I was   
supposed to be back a while back. See you   
tomorrow?" She asked nervously, hoping that   
he'd buy the story she'd just conjured up.   
He nodded. "Go ahead, I know my way   
home." She smiled gratefully in response.   
"Bye!" She called out, as Gyokuren   
watched her departing figure disappear.   
  
***  
"My my, what a nice little place we've got   
here, brothers…" A hulking shadow whispered   
through undefined lips. She grabbed a screaming   
student who was trying to scamper away. Placing   
an arm around the terrified person, she drew the   
energy from the student. She left only a limp   
form lying on the ground, books and papers   
scattered in all directions by it. "Takumashii   
*is* a nice place for energy. There's so much   
of it lying around, just for us."   
The stone embedded in the shadow's arm   
glowed bright violet momentarily before it   
returned to it's natural amethyst color.  
"Having fun, Noi?" Tenki, the third—and   
youngest—shadow muttered distastefully as he   
grabbed another bystander and drew the energy   
from their terrified form. He looked very   
bored..well, that is, if one could see the   
features of a shadow... He looked over his   
shoulder at his brother, Shin, who seemed to be   
having a grand time. "Tell me, Noi, why do we   
have to do the dirty work?" His sister grinned   
at him affectionately. Tenki would always be   
her curious little brother to her…   
"Because," she answered coolly, draining   
the energy from two more students. "we were   
commanded to. Now, we wouldn't want to go   
against *her* wishes, would we now, ne?"   
Tenki gave his sister one good, hard look,   
then relaxed as her words sunk in his logical   
mind. He watched as she performed her duties in   
a professional manner, unlike his other sibling,   
Shin. Shin seemed to find some sort of 'fun'   
around this task, as he barreled the people out   
of their wits before taking their energy.   
Such an unnecessary task, Tenki shook his   
head, disagreeing with both this mission and his   
brother's way of dealing with the people. Noi   
always made more sense anyway, he shook his head   
in his shadow-like way, returning to his task of   
collecting energy.  
"And who are you, my pretty?" Noi grasped   
a blond by the collar as she struggled to free   
herself. Her chocolate brown eyes widened with   
fear. Her textbooks tumbled to the ground. A   
name on the flap of the open textbook caught   
Noi's sharp vision. Ryoko…  
"So, Ryoko, is it? I really must thank   
you for your contribution of energy." Noi   
grinned wickedly. "It's greatly appreciated!"   
Slowly, little by little, the energy   
flowed from Ryoko's struggling body to the   
polished smooth stone embedded in Noi's arm. It   
glowed briefly in completion of it's task,   
leaving Ryoko's limp form on the ground.   
"Stop right there!" Two voices cried in   
unison, alerting the shadows.   
"Hmm…I wonder who that is?" Tenki dropped   
his half-drained victim on the ground, moaning   
his indignities before slumping into the world   
of unconsciousness.  
"Senshi," Noi whispered, dropping the   
unfortunate soul who caught her eye on the   
ground as well. He did much the same as Tenki's   
victim did before he too lost consciousness.   
"Well well well," mused Noi in a menacing voice,   
"Two Senshi and three of us, ne, Tenki?"   
Tenki glanced back at his brother, Shin,   
who was still occupied with barreling innocents.   
"Correction, two are here in mind *and* body…"   
Tenki sweatdropped, glaring at Shin. He   
shrugged and settled into his fighting stance as   
he gazed into the eyes of his enemies.   
"Fire Soul!" Mars cried, meeting her two   
gloved fingers together in her prized attack.   
Noi and Tenki jumped back with lightning   
speed, avoiding the onslaught of flame. The   
fireball shot past them, slightly grazing past   
their figures. Noi turned to Tenki, who nodded   
mutely in response.   
"Mars, let me take a shot," Sailor Moon   
suggested, feeling a sense of confidence surge   
into her veins. Rei nodded and stepped aside.   
"Moon…Tiara…" The Senshi of the Moon   
began, voice echoing into past millennia where   
her power had originated from. "MAGIC!" Sailor   
Moon shouted, performing her last stance before   
hurling the tiara accurately at the female   
shadow.   
The shining discus flew past everyone and   
everything, meeting Noi with deadly accuracy.   
However, the Sailor Moon's desired effect didn't   
occur.   
There, sitting in the palm of the shadow   
warrior, was the discus, immediately going dim   
in contact with Noi's touch.   
"Tenki, go." Noi grasped the tiara,   
throwing it back at the Senshi of the moon,   
where it landed neatly at her feet.   
Tenki nodded as he raced to the blond   
Senshi, smiling maliciously. He grasped her by   
the shoulders, sending her flying toward a tree   
on the campus. Her back came in painful contact   
with the tree trunk as the event caused birds to   
fly from their nests in a frightened frenzy.   
Her struggles were rendered useless as Tenki   
pinned her on the tree.   
"Let's see what kind of power you've   
got…You look like a feisty one, ne?" Noi strode   
closer to the blond Senshi.   
"Get away from her!" Screamed Mars,   
running to come to her best friend's aid. "You   
hurt her, I'll—" She was cut off as a blast of   
energy barreled into her exposed abdomen, to   
Sailor Moon's horror.   
"That should keep you busy for the time   
being." Noi lowered fluid her arm, glancing   
once more at the unconscious Senshi before   
turning to the legendary Senshi of the moon.   
Sailor Moon remained voiceless in fear, but not   
for herself, for Rei. "Now, as for you…"   
"No," Sailor Moon uttered, trying her   
utmost not to quiver. Noi gave her a merciless   
grin as she raised that shadowy limb of hers   
once more. Slowly, the dim outstretch of a limb   
extended into claws, settling themselves within   
Usagi's thin wisps of blond hair. The claws   
grasped Usagi's head painfully, causing the   
golden tiara on her head to pinch her painfully.   
However, try as Usagi might, she couldn't   
struggle out of the confines of Tenki's   
restraint measures or Noi's claw.  
Noi's amethyst stone began to glow a   
vibrant violet as the energy transferred from   
Usagi's strained form.   
  
***  
  
Mamoru strolled along the sidewalk, his   
thoughts revolving around his last meeting with   
Usagi. Ryoko had left him to pick up something   
from the university campus.   
…You don't need me…   
Usagi's words echoed in his mind as he   
reminisced about the moment that had just   
occurred five minutes ago. Then the truth hit   
him at full force like a ten-pound brick.   
"But I do need you," he mouthed silently,   
the words unheard by anyone. However, the   
phrase shook the logic foundations of his mind   
loudly.   
A scream pierced into the air,   
interrupting Mamoru's train of thought. He rose   
his head abruptly, eyes scanning the area. His   
eyes widened at the sight before him.   
There, pinned next to the tree, was sailor   
moon, a figure that he'd helped many times as   
his rose-throwing alter ego, Tuxedo Kamen.   
However, he was frozen in his spot, eyes   
beholding the impossible.  
Two shadow-like creatures surrounded her,   
one holding her firmly against the rough trunk   
of the tree, another dug their clawed limb in   
her blond tresses. The brooch fixed on sailor   
moon's Senshi fuku burst open, emitting a   
blindingly bright light. Glistening pink   
ribbons appeared around her, sparkling under   
midday sun. Sailor Moon screamed once again   
before falling into the dark depths of   
unconsciousness. The ribbons vanished, leaving   
her civilian form behind.   
Another figure appeared floating in   
midair. A wide malicious smirk smeared across   
her demonic features. Fiery red hair spilled   
down the length of her back. She beckoned with   
a clawed finger at Usagi's limp body, moving it   
toward her. With a snap of her fingers, she,   
her minions and Usagi disappeared.   
Time stopped for Mamoru. He felt only his   
heart thump within his chest. His eyes glazed   
over the figures at the overgrown tree. Fingers   
became icy, his entire body oddly numb with   
fear.  
"Usagi is Sailor Moon," he murmured   
quietly, as he too slumped to the ground with   
muffled thud.   
  
***  
  
hehe! Done! Done! Done! ::sees handful of   
readers coming at her with flaming bushes::   
wait…::blinks:: is that namida and antigone at   
the forefront? Gah! they've got long pointy   
sticks with them! ::inches away slowly:: now,   
now…be *nice*… ::laughs nervously as antigone   
and namida give mizu a classic I-look-like-I'm-  
going-to-skewer-you-with-that-glint-in-the-eye   
look::  
  
^^;;   
  
mizu: umm…what are you going to do with those   
bushes? ::raises eyebrow:: ^^;; ::touches the   
flames gingerly:: ahh…circulation returning to   
fingers…  
  
antigone & namida: --;;  
  
Many thanks minna-san!   
Comments? Questions? Flames? E-mail to:  
  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
URL: www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami  
  
  
  
  



	9. Chapter 8 - Indigo

Don't flame me! I'm still alive! I'm *still*   
writing...surprisingly. whew...this has been a   
difficult few months...mizu gets struck by   
writers block, then school rears it's ugly   
head... trust me, minna, you do *not* want to   
write essays that are enough to satisfy a   
thesis point of view! ::receives blank   
stares:: never mind...wrote other stories   
though, like "Liberi Fatali" and Patch's   
and my co-fanfic called "Cupid's Wayward   
Arrow"...::gleeful look:: we're going to have   
fun with *that* one...  
  
e-mail: Tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
URL: http://www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami  
Mailing List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mizuno_updates/  
  
  
Disclaimer: sailor moon belongs to naoko   
takeuchi. I don't own it. (sound familiar?   
;) )  
  
Fate's Will  
Chapter 8: Indigo  
  
"USAGI!" Mamoru arose abruptly, sitting   
up stiffly. His hands grasped sweat soaked   
sheets instead of the familiar asphalt ground   
he remembered collapsing on. "What the…?"   
"Yeesh, Mamoru, you scream loud enough…"   
A muffled female voice came from behind a white   
screen door. Where was he, anyway? Seconds   
later, Rei popped her head through a crack   
between the screens. "Hold on, I'll go change   
your sheets," she muttered, scurrying to a   
nearby cupboard filled with stacks of folded   
linens.   
"Rei?" Mamoru uttered, giving the Shinto   
priestess a questioning look. At this point,   
the answer hit him squarely in the face: he was   
in the Hikawa Shrine grounds. No wonder why   
the place smelled like cherry blossoms…  
"Mako-chan and I found you near   
Takumashii. Although, I don't think we'll ever   
understand why you decided to take a nap on the   
ground. I guess when Usagi said that you were   
a mystery, she was pretty much correct about   
that…"  
Mamoru chose that point to intervene,   
"Usa…" He murmured, the memories flooding back   
to him. Sailor Moon was pinned to a   
tree...helpless, if he recalled correctly.   
Transparent-looking figures…an explosion of   
glittery pink ribbons…red haired woman…Usagi…   
"Usagi?" Mamoru cried, grasping the sheets   
tightly about frantically. "Where is she?!"   
That very name seemed to make Rei go   
pale. Her violet depths darkened in concern,   
the burning light within reduced to a mere   
flicker. She whispered something, however, it   
was out of earshot for Mamoru.   
"What was that?" He asked, eyes wide.   
"You know something? About her being Sailor   
Moon?"  
She shot him a smoldering look. "How do   
you know about that?!" She demanded, striding   
next to him and standing imposingly over his   
sitting form.   
A distant look appeared on Mamoru's face,   
as if retrieving memories from what seemed like   
five minutes ago. "I saw the ribbons…there   
were so many of them…pink, glittery…" He   
glanced up at Rei, eyes vacant of any   
expression. "Then there was Usagi,   
unconscious."  
Rei nodded mutely in response. "So you   
know now," she pondered her situation. "Do you   
know where they took her?" She asked   
hopefully, almost pleadingly.   
To her dismay, Mamoru shook his head,   
which was still foggy from the afternoons   
incident.  
"Rei? Did you see it too? Sailor Moon   
turning into Usagi? Did you see what   
happened?" He prompted.  
Rei shook her head, "I felt something   
today though, during meditation…it felt like I   
was losing someone who I cared deeply about."   
Her vision became a watery blur of the world   
about her. "I didn't think it'd be her." She   
wiped away the tears forcefully, trying to bury   
her fickle emotions once more as she often did.   
"I know she's Sailor Moon. Always have,   
Mamoru. It could be because I'm Senshi Mars,"   
she smiled wryly, the tears threatening to   
spill down her cheeks once more. She was   
entrusting him with a great secret, one that   
that threaten her security. However, if she   
didn't tell Mamoru, he might just rebel in   
ignorance and spill Usagi-chan's secret to the   
world. Gaining his trust was her priority at   
this moment.   
Mamoru seemed to be pondering. Slowly,   
he lifted his right hand, palm facing upwards.   
Whispering a few words, the purest aroma of   
roses invaded the gentle cherry blossom scents.   
A single, half-opened rose laid on his open   
hand, fitting perfectly in his palm.   
Gracefully, he lifted the rose to his eyes,   
allowing its crimson hue to reflect in his   
indigo eyes.   
"Now you know," he murmured to Rei. "A   
secret for a secret."   
  
***  
  
The crystallized sound of water dripping   
resonated throughout the dark chambers. If one   
would trace the sound to it's original   
location, one would find an odd sight. It's   
source seemed to fall from a perpetually wet   
rocky surface, following the pull of gravity   
and making a single, eerie dripping sound   
before disappearing into the depths of   
oblivion. Another would follow its place,   
performing the exact same activity, following   
the pull of gravity into oblivion, as if it   
knew nothing else but that oblivion.   
Such an analogy could be compared with,   
say, the blond figure sprawled across the damp   
ground. Perhaps she was just another one of   
those little drops…they were little ecosystems   
on their own. However, when they fell into the   
void of nothingness, they ceased to exist.   
As if in sync with the rhythmic dripping   
sounds, images formed in her subconscious mind,   
each reappearing and disappearing with every   
drip. Her first image was of a group of young   
girls around her age, with their arms hooked,   
faces beaming with unbridled mirth. Their joy   
seemed to be captured in that single moment, as   
if it would last forever in it's snapshot   
prison.   
  
*DRIP*  
  
Another frozen image…the handsome   
Gyokuren, winking his signature wink. How   
handsome he is…the sparkling eyes, the blond   
curls that tumbled unceremoniously over his   
eyes…  
  
*DRIP*  
  
Now, this was an interesting image. A   
girl in cotton candy pink hair, with oval buns   
strangely akin to hers. She looked rather   
familiar, but this was a new image. Who was   
this person?   
  
*DRIP*  
  
Ahh…specimen C…a handsome person indeed.   
Hmm…how might we identify this little image   
here? Different from Gyo-kun's sparkling   
personality…very different indeed… Three words   
came to mind: Tall. Dark. Handsome. Need we   
say more? A rose, perfected in everyway,   
drifted into the image, unraveling it's velvety   
petals in a firework-like pattern. Wait? It   
smells like roses…   
Another drip resounded when Usagi arose,   
limbs and digits feeling incredibly cold.   
"Roses…" She croaked, lips parched. She   
blinked, the heady scent of roses disappearing   
just as quickly it had arrived. Why in the   
world did it smell roses?   
"Awake? Already?" A voice drawled   
somewhere from above.   
Usagi tore her gaze from the ground and   
replanted it to the figure hovering over her.   
"Who are you?" She asked softly.  
"Now, how did I know you were going to   
ask that?" The figure grinned in amusement,   
crossing her legs to sit in mid-air. She   
lowered herself to float just above Usagi's   
height. "You don't remember me?" She frowned   
mockingly. "I'm hurt," she murmured, voice   
filled with hate, edged with anger. "Typical   
of you Lunars. Forget the names of all the   
souls that you've harmed. I wasn't going to   
even dignify that question with an answer," she   
scoffed, "but all you need to know is that I'm   
you're worse nightmare..." she planted herself   
solidly on the ground. Her demonic red lips   
curled up in a Cheshire cat-like smile.  
"Lunars? Harm? What on earth are you   
talking about?" Usagi croaked, throat dry for   
some unknown reason. That water dripping was   
making her thirsty.   
Her captor's face darkened as she   
narrowed her eyes. "Millennia ago, there was a   
star system on the outskirts of Martian   
territory. It housed a single, independent   
naation; *my* nation," she said firmly, eyes   
gleaming for the briefest of moments.   
Usagi just nodded mutely in her position,   
absorbing every word her captor spoke.   
"The habitable worlds there were so   
beautiful, with their lush green forests and   
gently sloping hills." She looked up   
wistfully, as if reminiscing about a faraway   
land that was just out of reach, but within her   
line of vision. It was taunting her.   
"There was one thing that made our economy,   
no, our *world* thrive in prosperity. It was a   
certain mineral; coronithe. An excellent   
source of engine fuel for ships. Very   
efficient...however, unlike most sources, it   
wasn't volatile."   
She pursed her lips, "I always thought   
that it's greenish hue looked pretty..." A   
faraway look, almost...childish? "In fact, it   
was rather healthy for people to absorb small   
amounts of the mineral everyday; it made them   
live longer."  
Her gaze darkened and that youthful spark   
within vanished without a second thought as she   
turned her vision toward Usagi. She sneered,   
twisting her once beautiful face into one of a   
jealous figure. "But then the Lunars came,   
proposing peace and prosperity to join their   
silver millennium alliance." She laughed   
harshly, voice echoing into the void. "We'd   
stand together, I remember the first line of   
the document." Her voice seethed with sarcasm   
and hatred.  
"What happened?" Usagi murmured, almost   
afraid to ask the question. Her captor looked   
at her pointedly at first, eyeing weakened form   
and golden hair that spilled in golden pools   
from either side of her.   
"You tricked us," she whispered slowly,   
giving Usagi a smoldering look. "You fooled us   
with your kind words. You came with your   
armies and battalions, slaughtering our people,   
taking our precious mineral that was the   
foundation of our existence! Damnit! It was   
what we *LIVED* on!" She screamed, snaky locks   
swirling around her shoulders as she shook from   
side to side. Even the echoes seemed to havve   
silenced themselves at her fury, leaving her   
voice to project itself alone.   
Leaning downwards, she blocked Usagi's   
vision with her face, livid eyes boring into   
Usagi's crystal blue. For an instant, Usagi   
actually feared for her life.   
"But you know what, little princess?"   
the woman hissed. "It's not there anymore. My   
world is gone. *YOU MINED IT OUT OF   
EXISTANCE*!" Her speech quickened, but every   
little drop of hatred and anger that had built   
up during her years of existence were still   
present. "Jealous of us, weren't you? Liked   
our resource so much that you wanted it all for   
yourself? So, you come along, *WITHOUT* regard   
and destroy our planet, fueled by your never-  
ending greed."   
"Then why are you still alive?" The   
blonde below asked gently.   
"I was away at the time, on a diplomatic   
mission. I, crown princess and arch mage of   
Coronolis, Corona VII."   
Usagi bowed her head, as if revering the   
name itself, but deep within, she knew that the   
title meant more than it sounded.  
"It no longer matters. There is no   
Coronolis, only a princess left to inherit an   
empty empire..."  
An uneasy silence settled down between   
the two women. Only the sound of water   
dripping dared to intrude upon the quiet   
moment.   
A liquid jewel-like tear slipped down   
Usagi's milky-white cheek, and landed with   
gentle padding sound on the ground, out of   
sight. Slowly, she rose upon her still aching   
feet, legs wobbling slightly. She lifted her   
golden head to meet the eyes of the princess of   
the lost empire of Coronalis. Usagi reached a   
hand to touch her face, as if consoling her in   
a motherly fashion, however, her help wasn't   
received with an open heart. Instead, Corona   
batted away the hand, pushing Usagi away from   
her.   
"I am from Coronalis, untouchable to you   
Lunars. I want no pity from the people who   
mercilessly destroyed my home," she gritted   
between perfectly white teeth.  
"Corona..." Usagi heaved, another tear   
slipping silently down her face.   
"Stop it! I want none of your tears!   
None of your useless pity!" Corona shouted,   
lifting herself in the air once more, appearing   
much in the same fashion that she did when   
Usagi caught a glimpse of her.   
"Poor Corona...poor lost princess..."   
Usagi's eyes glistened with unshed tears that   
threatened to fall at any moment. She kept   
murmuring words, hoping that it would comfort   
the woman floating above.   
"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" Screeched   
Corona, shutting her eyes tightly. Her arms   
came up to cover her ears, as if Usagi's pity   
was some terrible music that invaded her ears.  
Usagi quieted herself, abruptly stopping   
her comforting murmurs at the sound of Corona's   
screaming voice.   
Corona balled her fists at her side,   
glaring loathingly at the blonde below. "What   
do *you* know?! You, who proposed peace and   
brought war! You, who destroyed my HOMELAND,   
my FRIENDS, my FAMILY! All those I held   
dearest to my heart, you DESTROYED!" She began   
to writhe in agony, as the memories forcefully   
resurfaced themselves as she shrieked. Tears   
of sadness, revulsion and disgust rolled freely   
down her cheeks from her hard, glassy eyes.   
"They're GONE! NEVER to be SEEN AGAIN! I   
want none of your pity, moon princess! NONE OF   
IT AT ALL!" With one last sob, Princess Corona   
the VII vanished into thin air, leaving Usagi.   
"Poor princess..." Usagi murmured again,   
not knowing if it was for Corona's benefit or   
for her peace of mind. Even though she   
couldn't have possibly done something that   
horrible, Corona was still blaming her for a   
nation's past deeds. Usagi couldn't help but   
pity her; her compassionate heart required her   
to do so.   
Then, Corona's final words finally   
connected with her conscious mind, penetrating   
into her very being.   
"She called me the...moon princess?"   
However, Usagi was only left with a nation's   
guilt and broken pieces to her identity.   
  
***  
  
Yes, I know, some of it doesn't make sense.   
Ask me not. I'm in a fuzzy state of mind   
again...and not   
the *WAFFy* state!   
  
e-mail: tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
ja!  
mizu-chan  
  
Dec. 25/00   
  
  
  
  



	10. Chapter 9 - Blissful Solitude

Disclaimer: the usual...no own sailor moon (or   
quartz, for that matter, and the 'X200 Deluxe'   
if it actually exists. Otherwise, it's a   
concoction from my mind). Naoko Takeuchi does.  
  
Fate's Will  
Chapter 9: Blissful Solitude  
  
A thin-fingered hand rested upon a black,   
lacquered knob, turning the mechanism. Mizuno   
Ami was sitting on the roof of her condominium   
complex, attempting to get an accurate reading   
on an incoming shooting star for an astrology   
project—due in seven months... Her teacher had   
outlined every major project within the year   
and Ami made the most of that knowledge by   
finishing everything beforehand, with or   
without the specific guidelines. However, she   
couldn't seem to get accurate readings on this   
blasted shooting star.  
Frustrated, she pulled off her glasses   
tiredly. It was late, she noticed, glancing at   
her quartz wrist watch. Perhaps she should go   
to bed while she still had the chance. Her   
mind wouldn't let this dilemma at hand rest   
easy. Soon, another knowledge quest would hit   
her and she'd be up for the entire night. She   
batted at her super magnifying 'X200 Deluxe'   
telescope, throwing her presets off track.   
However, just as a fetish of sorts, Ami was   
compelled to look where her batting had sent   
her telescope. Her forehead suddenly creased   
in deep thought, as her hands fiddled with the   
knobs to magnify the view as much as she could.   
She peered in the glasses as her mouth   
parted in a gasp.   
"Oh my..." She murmured to no one in   
particular, before returning the telescope to   
it's protective case.  
Not long after, Ami could be spotted   
running down the streets in her casual sweats,   
with only the observatory in sight.   
  
***  
  
So, there's a 0.0002 degree difference...  
Ami slumped in one of the many different   
plastic seats set aside for students like her.   
A normal establishment wouldn't be open during   
this insane hour, however, observatories were   
for night owls, such as herself.   
She'd already taken several readings   
required for her calculations, however, they   
always came 0.0002 degrees off. For many, that   
amount would be more than adequate; the   
calculated percent error would be a trace   
amount. However, to Ami, that trace amount was   
just as important to her findings. Besides,   
that little voice that piped endlessly about   
accuracy wouldn't let this trace amount. Even   
the number itself, written in careful, neat,   
scripting, seemed to stand out, waving a giant   
red flag at her reading, "MISTAKE!"  
"Why is this always coming out with an   
increment of 0.0002 degrees?" She mused in the   
half-empty room. With an un-Ami-like fashion,   
she dropped her books on the desk, creating a   
loud thump to resonate in the chamber.   
She was so frustrated that she didn't   
notice the soft padding approaching her from   
behind.  
She gasped softly as a gruff hand rested   
on her shoulder.   
"So, you notice it too?" A raspy voice   
of old age remarked thoughtfully. Ami turned   
to see an old man, about her height, smile   
kindly down at her.   
He glanced down at her findings. "I   
can't, for the life of me, find out what's   
wrong with this star...Don't worry, if you've   
made a mistake, I'm in it with you," the   
elderly professor commented wryly. Ami could   
only nod mutely.   
"Although, since it's got this strange   
green light around it, it can add to the list   
of oddities about this star," he smiled,   
assuring Ami that all her logic had stayed   
right where she left it.   
"Green?" She asked quizzically. "Why is   
it green? I don't see it as green?" She   
looked doubtfully at the professor.   
"Eh? You don't?" The professor crinkled   
his nose in a strange fashion. His bushy   
eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. "Are you   
sure? It's pretty plain to me..."   
Ami shook her head in response.   
"And oddity indeed..."   
  
***  
  
Mamoru trudged around the park aimlessly.   
"It isn't right, it doesn't make any   
sense!" He muttered fiercely to himself,   
shaking his head discordantly. Why? Why was   
he having these strange feelings? He was   
deathly worried about Usagi...Why? He couldn't   
tell...He tried to ignore that sinking feeling   
in his gut, but every single blasted thing   
reminded him of her! From the tall, graceful   
trees that seemed to stretch themselves further   
for the sun's life-giving rays, to the little   
child that scampered off to its parents. Every   
tiny detail, every plant, every living being,   
reminded him of her joyful, life-giving   
personality.   
He looked down, careful not to step on a   
wildflower. The tiny blossom was white...pure,   
in nature...so much like Usagi, he mused, then   
mentally walked himself into a pole. He   
glowered at the flower, "Hope you're happy," he   
muttered under his breath toward the flower.   
"You remind me of her..." The flower tilted   
it's soft petals in the wind, as if replying.   
Mamoru groaned. He was too busy wallowing in   
his pessimism to see the form approach from   
behind.  
"Mamoru?" Two, rich, mahogany eyes   
peered at his bent form quizzically. Ryoko   
placed a hand on her prince's shoulder,   
attempting to retrieve him from his intense   
staring competition with what seemed like the   
ground. "Something wrong?" Her sweet voice   
inquired, dragging Mamoru from his reverie.   
Mamoru blinked, as if just realizing how absurd   
his train of thoughts were. He hastily pasted   
on a fake smile.  
"No, no, nothing's wrong," he muttered,   
shaking his head at the same time.   
Ryoko quirked up and eyebrow,   
disbelieving. "Are you sure?" She prompted   
once again.  
Mamoru shook his head once again to   
reassure her, "No, nothing's wrong." He smiled   
genuinely; the same handsome smile that could   
melt away any girl's doubts. He couldn't tell   
her, he concluded. He'd found his angel...Why   
in the world would he disentangle from her   
saving grasp for the touch of another? No,   
Mamoru mused, he was the loyal type. The   
thought of having two people in his heart,   
quite frankly, disgusted him.   
He turned to Ryoko, taking in her   
graceful form and flawless features once more.   
Gently, he raised his fingers to brush against   
the side of her face ever so softly.   
So beautiful...He mentally murmured to   
himself. Images of her staring into a   
sparkling lake, taking a lost child in her   
arms, and giving him her undivided attention   
when he needed it most, flitted past his   
willing mind.   
Suddenly, another picture faded into   
view. The figure was a blond as well. Her   
immaculate face stared at him innocently. Her   
sparkling eyes examined him critically, and   
pointed an accusatory finger at his chest, or   
to be specific, his jacket. Mamoru barely   
noticed the change in scenery, but all the   
same, his mind didn't seem to mind in the   
least. *That* was the fact that boggled his   
logical mind most.   
"...Usagi..." He whispered, unaware that   
he had mouthed the forbidden name. He shut his   
mouth abruptly in apprehension. Ryoko didn't   
hear that, did she? He thought worriedly, then   
proceeded to reprimand himself for the silly   
thought. Why would she care? She knows I love   
her?   
Love...something he wasn't so sure of   
these days.   
Ryoko touched his chin, turning his gaze   
in her direction. She blinked quizzically into   
his eyes, betraying all the feelings within;   
her love for him, her concern, her suspicion,   
and most importantly, her slight pain in   
hearing a woman's name, other than hers, upon   
her lover's lips.   
"Mamoru," she said firmly, snapping him   
from his dreams. "Who's Usagi?" She looked   
squarely at him, picking up any false words   
that his eyes would deny. He didn't answer,   
but only blinked at her in surprise, mouth   
slightly open. He remembered to mentally kick   
himself for thinking of another woman while he   
was involved.   
He gave her a boyish grin. "Usagi? Oh,   
*her*!" He announced awkwardly, as if talking   
about any other old girl he'd seen on the   
street. The problem was, even though his lips   
conveyed his thoughts in that manner, his soul   
clamored within its gilded cage, screaming,   
"NO!"  
"Actually, Usagi's been in an accident,"   
he nodded gravely, letting a hint of worry   
penetrate into his voice. His attitude had   
changed rapidly from surprise to genuine   
concern.   
"In trouble? Is she all right?" Ryoko   
queried, concerned. "What happened to her?"   
She prompted quickly. She grabbed hold of   
Mamoru's left sleeve, tugging at him to reply.   
He blanched. "Err...nothing much."  
Nothing much? The suspicious, sinking   
feeling settled itself on Ryoko. It was silly!   
Why would she ever question her prince? What   
reason did she have to doubt him?   
The answer hit her full-force in the   
face: Usagi. Who was she?  
"But why would you be so worried about   
her if it wasn't much?" She cocked her head to   
the side, a questioning look settling on her   
face. Damn...Ryoko could never take a "no" for   
an answer...   
"Umm..." Mamoru sputtered, looking   
around frantically for an excuse. It wasn't   
like him to be this ruffled—then again, it   
wasn't like him to be thinking of two women at   
the same time when he only had room for one.  
Only had room for one...Usagi-chan...  
He perished the thought from his mind,   
although it was stubborn—just like him, he   
noted sourly.   
"She got into a car accident!" He   
managed to say, pasting another smile on his   
face. Frankly, he was getting rather tired of   
this charade, and his facial muscles were   
starting to ache a little. "Yes, she's at the   
hospital."  
"Hospital?" Inquired Ryoko. She smiled   
childishly. "We could go visit her!" She   
pronounced jubilantly, grasping Mamoru's arm   
and dragging him toward the bus terminal.   
"Perhaps I should have a good long talk with   
this 'Usagi'," she added slyly, getting out of   
her way to sound like she didn't intend any   
harm.   
Mamoru, looking too helpless for his own   
good, interjected, "NO!" He stood dead in his   
tracks, frozen on the very spot. He didn't   
realize the playful lilt Ryoko had in her   
voice. She shot him a disappointed look.   
"I thought so..." She nodded gravely.   
"She isn't in the hospital, is she?" She   
asked, as if stating a fact. However, she   
still sought out his answer, whatever it may   
have been.   
Mamoru could only shake his head in   
response. She didn't deserve to be lied to.   
No one deserved to be lied to...   
She glanced at him disappointedly, "She   
didn't get in an accident, did she?"   
He shook his head again, slowly. He   
couldn't deny the fact, and he couldn't lie to   
her anymore. The day of the accident had left   
a vacant spot in his heart. It was as if   
something had torn a sizable chunk out of his   
soul, and from its original home. He absently   
clutched at his chest, nursing the gaping hole   
that was left behind.   
Then, came the silence. It was the   
deadly silence that could cut the world in two;   
the same silence he'd heard this morning, when   
he didn't collide into Usagi on his daily   
morning trek. Honestly, it hurt a great deal.   
Moments seem to flit by in reality's   
world. However, Mamoru felt the heavy burden   
guilt settle upon him, stretching those mere   
minutes to feel like hour upon hour had passed.   
Ryoko didn't speak, and neither did he.   
Through the uncomfortable silence, Mamoru   
spotted a droplet of moisture slip down the   
silk of her cheek. It glided down the cheek,   
finally landing on the cement ground beneath   
them.   
She was suspicious, and for a good reason   
too. They had never been in a fight, since one   
would always yield to the other and vice versa,   
just to avoid unnecessary tension. Although,   
there was one thing that Mamoru realized; he   
and Ryoko never really communicated. They   
never really shared each other's thoughts.   
Perhaps if they had resorted to debating issues   
out instead of resulting to an outburst such as   
their current predicament. Perhaps, there   
would still be a miniscule of a chance left.   
"Do you care for her?" She whispered   
quietly, as another tear plunged to the ground.   
Her unswerving gaze fixed upon his once more,   
like it always had. However, the atmosphere   
that surrounded them was far different from   
before.   
He couldn't lie to her. Dropping his   
head, he nodded gloomily. He heard her stifle   
a sob.   
"No wonder why you keep staring into   
space these days," she murmured, as if   
understanding the events that had just passed.   
"Even your kisses seemed colder."   
Dear Lord, had he been *that* wrapped up   
with Usagi's abduction?   
Every single time he'd kiss her, he'd put   
forth all his tenderness to that kiss. But   
when he closed his eyes, all was lost. He was   
consumed with visions of a girl with pink   
ribbons swirling about her, then, there would   
be nothing. He'd feel the emotional pain from   
that part of his soul that was snatched cruelly   
from him. It was like the emptiness he had   
encountered during the last dream before it   
took it's vow of silence...  
His eyes widened substantially as   
realization hit him at full force in the face.   
Dear Lord...he was in love with the girl...  
He ran to Ryoko, hands clasped around   
hers, eyes pleading. "Forgive me, will you?"   
He fumbled around with the words, not quite   
sure what to say in this predicament. He   
didn't want another gaping hole in his heart.   
He wouldn't let it happen again...  
She turned her head to their conjoined   
hands, not bothering to reassure him by   
grasping back. After all, if she did, it would   
make this all the more painful to her.   
"You don't love me anymore," she said   
softly, "You never really were mine, were you?"   
She shot up at him, her glimmering eyes   
betraying the hurt within.   
Mamoru shook his head reluctantly,   
grasping her limp hands firmly. "No, don't   
leave me...please...I don't want to be alone."   
He stated plainly, face placid, void of any   
emotion. Alone...he was terrified of being   
alone. After all, after everything he had   
done, even the woman of his dreams rejected   
him. He would forever be alone, alone in the   
vast, bleak world.  
She shook her head, smiling wryly. "I   
was never in your heart to begin with. You   
never let me through in the first place," she   
murmured gently, facial features as delicate as   
a porcelain doll trapped in it's glass casing.   
However, they were probably the most truthful   
words that exchanged between them during this   
meeting. "You were always alone, Mamoru," she   
replied, addressing him by his given name. She   
rarely did so, and the fact that she did scared   
him into silence.   
"You love her," she disentangled her   
hands from his. "Go to her..." Her eyes fell   
to the blurry ground beneath her. "I won't   
stand in the way of true love."  
Wiping her eyes in an attempt to regain   
her calm composure, she swiveled and stalked   
off, lifting one foot in front of the other   
with great difficulty. But Ryoko was a strong   
spirit, she knew she did the right thing. Her   
heart spoke through her lips, conveying the   
truth to Mamoru. Hopefully, he'd know and   
accept the truth as she saw it.  
Mamoru sank to the ground, next to a   
tree. He rested his chin on his bent knees,   
his arms holding his legs as close as possible   
to his still-hurting chest. Rocking slightly,   
he blinked back unshed tears. Slowly, the   
truth seeped into him. She left him. Three   
simple words that meant the world to him at   
that particular reference in time. The birds   
continued to chirp around him, the wind   
continued to tickle the flowers, and the   
distant sound of children laughing echoed   
throughout the vast park. However, he heard   
none of it. He was alone again, trapped in his   
prison of solitude.   
  
***  
  
The scent of her perspiration mingled   
with that of the burning cinders. However, the   
natural pungent fragrance of the smoke was   
familiar to her, hence, it didn't affect her in   
the least. Her eyes didn't water in the   
intense heat, for they were closed in deep   
meditation.   
The heat was near unbearable, washing   
over her wave over scorching wave. She was   
used to it by now. Every other thought was   
locked from her mind, secured with her mind's   
discipline. She only felt the searing heat;   
and searched about it for guidance.   
The Hikawa shrine robes felt oddly heavy,   
however, Rei was quite used to it by now, being   
an accomplished priestess. She felt warm as   
she chanted the incantations. She focused her   
mind on the fire, flickering dangerously close   
to her, but refraining from singeing her robes.   
Hopefully, meditation would bring her the peace   
of mind that she craved.   
She hated how she couldn't do anything   
about Usagi's condition. Betrayal washed   
through her, as she fought desperately to keep   
irrational thoughts back.   
She was not a selfish figure, even if she   
occasionally seemed like one. Her stormy   
friendship with Usagi was an oath that she held   
close to her heart. In not being able to help   
a close friend, she realized that she'd   
betrayed not only Usagi, but herself also.   
She continued her steady prayers,   
clearing her mind of the disturbing thoughts   
and worries that darted in her alert mind.   
Her mind leaned toward the fire, feeling   
more of the pure heat waves that washed over   
her. She was here to find peace of mind, not   
useless anxieties. What good would a clouded   
mind be to Usagi? She scolded herself,   
disciplining herself.   
Peace of mind...  
The ceremonial fire, however, did not   
grant her wish of peace of mind. It offered   
the young priestess a far better option than   
that.  
Her eyes shot open, watering slightly in   
the stray swirls of smoke that did not escape   
through the vents. Even though her body was   
ablaze with the heat of the fire, her hands   
became cold, frozen in the stance that they   
were in.   
Quietly, parched lips whispered, barely   
heard amidst the crackle of the fire.  
"I know where she is..." Rei darted out   
into the cooling atmosphere of the night.   
  
***   
  
Boring chapter, I know. Plot mover, I guess.   
::shrugs::   
  
Comments, Questions, Flames? Direct them to:  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
URL: http://www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami  
err...some broken links...I'll get around to   
them, *sometime*. ^^;;  
  
mizu-chan   
  
Feb. 11/01  
  
  



	11. Chapter 10 - Broken Memories

Disclaimer: No own sailor moon. (this is   
getting tedious, ne?) ;)  
  
Short part…just want to make it to twelve   
chapters… ^^;;   
(I know, strange excuse ;) )  
  
Fate's Will  
Chapter 10: Broken Memories  
  
The ground was damp, after the evening   
showers had successfully wet everything in   
their path. The Senshi, two felines, and one   
Tuxedo Kamen stood purposefully in the   
alleyway.   
"I still don't understand why you called   
*him*," Makoto dressed as her alter-ego, Senshi   
Jupiter, commented mockingly. She glowered at   
Tuxedo Kamen with half-lidded eyes. "Hasn't he   
done enough to her?" She shot a menacing glare   
at Rei, making sure that she still remembered   
the pain that Usagi had undergone after seeing   
him with another woman.   
Rei nodded understandingly. She still   
remember the pained look that crossed the moon   
Senshi's face whenever Mamoru's name was   
mentioned. However, even at the risk of a   
revolt, it was essential to introduce the rest   
of them to Mamoru, or rather, Tuxedo Kamen. He   
wasn't the most loved member of their makeshift   
group, but they all realized that they would   
need all the help they could get in this rescue   
mission.   
Mamoru, meanwhile, tried his best not to   
look hurt behind his mask. He had feelings for   
Usagi, just like the rest of them did. His, on   
the other hand, felt ingrained within his very   
being, and ultimately, his soul. How could   
they think such preposterous ideas?! He knew   
the answer to that self-given hypothetical   
question though. Judging from his non-existent   
relationship with Ryoko, and the events that   
Rei told him about Usagi's 'opinion' of it,   
he'd left a wound scoring deeply into Usagi's   
heart. According to Makoto previous scolding,   
he'd added salt to the wound without even   
knowing that he'd hurt her in the first place.   
"Who's up for some Senshi business?"   
Minako remarked brightly, attempting to lighten   
the atmosphere. She was immediately answered   
with six pairs of eyes staring her down. She   
scratched her head impishly. Why couldn't   
these people understand the situation at hand   
instead of settling in past events? What's   
done is done. The best way to reconcile is to   
grab their leader from her prison and deal with   
these feelings later. Moping would do Usagi no   
benefit.   
Ami sighed, pulling out her computer. "I   
took a scan of the city, and found something   
very odd. Earlier, I was at the observatory   
doing a late night school project…"  
Makoto dropped her jaw in bewilderment.   
"You're not telling me that you were doing that   
astronomy project due next term, are you?"  
Ami blushed crimson, hiding into the puny   
computer.  
"Ami! They were supposed to have us look   
at stars during the summer!"   
Ami scuffed her foot innocently on the   
ground. "Well, I had some time on my hands."   
She grinned innocently. "The teacher allowed   
us to take earlier readings, if we'd like…"  
Minako sighed, placing a hand on Makoto's   
taller shoulder. "She'll never change..."  
"Anyway, I was looking at this one star.   
It looked normal enough to me, but it kept   
changing it's coordinates. So, I was taking a   
scan of it's energy with my computer and found   
that—"  
"—there was a similar reading around this   
area. Namely, *that* building over there," a   
voice interrupted, drawing everyone from their   
attentive state of mind. All eyes turned to an   
elderly, distinguished professor and a blond   
with stormy gray eyes by his side.   
Mamoru hardened his eyes. His teeth grit   
together. It was *him*...What was his name?   
Gyokuren? Gyokuren didn't seem to notice the   
negative aura that was being generated from his   
extreme left side.  
"You came!" Ami replied cheerfully,   
extending her greetings to both the professor   
and Gyokuren. She turned to the Senshi,   
answering their unasked question. "Oh, this is   
the professor and his student, Gyokuren, who   
happens to be Usagi's friend as well..."  
*Friend*? Mamoru hissed, growing tense.   
A tick formed and bounced on his cheek.   
However, the rest of the Senshi nodded   
understandingly, leaving Mamoru to be the only   
one in a state of extreme dislike.   
"Anyway," continued the Senshi of   
Mercury, "The professor's been studying this   
star for ages, and knows far more about it than   
the rest of us should. For some odd reason, he   
also knew I was a Senshi..." The rest of the   
Senshi gasped collectively. How would an   
outsider know of their identities? How many   
others would know of them? This was a serious   
security issue…  
"I'm a telepath," the elderly man   
answered, sensing their apprehension. He   
raised a weathered hand in surrender. He   
wanted to pose no harm to anyone. "I don't   
plan to hurt anyone. I'm quite harmless, if   
you see it through my way," he smiled   
genuinely, appearing to the Senshi like a Santa   
Claus with his specs on. (That and the lab   
coat that he perpetually wore. For some   
reason, he felt odd when it wasn't on his   
shoulders.)   
"He and Gyokuren could see this green   
lighting around that star I was telling you   
about. It's a bit far to get specifics with my   
computer. I could only get a general energy   
reading, but, to the rest of us, the star   
looked the same as any other star." Ami began   
typing in more figures into her computer,   
forehead creased in thought. The blue visor   
appeared in front of her eyes, taking a scan of   
the area. Digital figures and calculations   
appeared in her transparent blue view that was   
invisible to the rest of them. "There," she   
pointed at a weathered down building, abandoned   
long ago by it's inhabitants for a safer   
section of town.   
"Let's go take a look then," the silent   
Mamoru murmured in a soft voice, sounding   
strictly business-like. He'd get Usagi out of   
there, regardless of sacrifices on his behalf.   
He wondered if this "Gyokuren" would do the   
same as he would.   
"Wait—" Ami prompted, stepping in his   
way. "There's a barrier around there. I   
suggest a recon mission at first to check what   
we're up against. After all, Usagi couldn't   
handle it herself." Her eyes went downcast,   
dropping her gaze to the ground in sorrow.  
"Right," Mars answered, taking   
initiative. "Let's go…"  
  
***  
  
"Well, well, well, who do we have here?   
Some measly mice trying to confront a cat? We   
might as well let them in…Shouldn't we,   
*princess*?" A scornful voice said mockingly,   
stressing her syllables on the last words,   
namely, the word, "princess". The golden blond   
could only stare at the non-existent ceiling   
with empty eyes, ignoring the maniacal laughter   
that ensued the speech.  
  
***  
The area looked normal enough; nothing   
but the occasional rodent scurry around an   
empty garbage can. There were no guards or   
security precautions in sight. The place was   
just simply…*empty*. The Senshi, however, knew   
better than this. Empty didn't necessarily   
mean safe. There were bound to be some sort of   
defenses around, Mamoru was sure of the fact.  
They approached the wall, however, when   
they had stepped close to the area, a crackling   
energy barrier arose, disallowing them access   
to the grounds beyond.   
Mercury's eyes widened substantially   
behind her visor as digits flickered back and   
forth in her vision. "Drat! We've been   
spotted!" She hissed, before the Senshi and   
Tuxedo Kamen dropped into a bottomless pit of a   
portal. Only a pair of figures and cats were   
left to stare at the asphalt ground that   
swallowed up their cavalry and their only hope   
of saving Usagi.   
  
***  
  
"Ugh..." Rei muttered, heaving herself   
off the ground. To her horror, there *was no*   
ground. She was bracing herself up on a flat   
surface, yes, but it wasn't visible to her.   
Her mind reeled, tossing logic out the window.   
She looked up; there wasn't a ceiling either.   
Were the others safe? She mused worriedly.   
Another voice other than her own, grunted in   
reply. Another to her right muttered something   
incoherent, but she was sure it was profanity   
of some sort, courtesy of Mako-chan. Someone   
behind her yelped in surprise, probably   
noticing the same floor—no floor factor just as   
she did some moments ago. Was it just her? Or   
was there a dripping sound in the distance?   
"Awake? Finally?" A figure appeared   
above them, scantily clad in a slip of a dress.   
She brushed her fingernails on her garment. "I   
was wondering how long it would take you," she   
commented impatiently, continuing to admire her   
shined, red nails. She wasn't the only one who   
saw red.   
Mamoru braced himself off the 'ground'.   
A rose materialized in his palm, as he acted   
upon instinct alone. With an animal snarl, he   
hurled the pointed end toward the vain figure   
above. "ARGH! WHERE IS SHE?!!!" (Even Mako-  
chan was surprised with his 'enthusiasm'.)   
Corona, however, materialized away from   
harm's way, and returned to her previous spot   
midair after the rose whizzed past. She glared   
at Mamoru with slit eyes. "You want her royal   
highness? She's right there," Corona hissed   
between clenched teeth. A stream of light   
appeared in the direction that her extended arm   
pointed toward. Their eyes followed the path   
the beam of light, eyes finally falling on the   
prone figure lying on the ground, arms spread   
about her. The party looked horrified at the   
unmoving figure, immediately thinking the   
worse.   
"She's alive," Ami breathed, after taking   
a brief scan. "Life's slipping out of her   
grasp though. She needs to see a doctor." The   
Senshi sighed in momentary relief. However,   
Mamoru still wasn't convinced. He rushed past   
them, leaving behind a scent of freshly cut   
roses, and bent down to take the limp form in   
his grasp.   
She felt cold in his hold, as he laid her   
head on the crook of his arm, as if he'd hold a   
small infant. Her eyes were wide open, seeing   
him and beyond. Even though her gaze was set   
in his direction, she didn't see him. She saw   
nothing except the fear, the dark, the night…   
He drank in the sight of her battered figure,   
and his heart sent wave after wave of guilt   
within him. He'd caused this, he scolded   
himself. How could he not see the love that   
appeared so frequently in his eyes? How could   
he take her friendly nature for granted? He   
bent his head in submission. He'd done her a   
great wrong—a sin that she might never forgive   
him for. However, the most important issue at   
hand was to keep her alive. It was the least   
that he could do.   
Gently, he laid her on her back, letting   
her settle once more on the ground.   
"I'll be back for you," he whispered, not   
receiving an answer.   
He strode purposefully toward the   
smirking figure above, detesting the sight of   
the scantily clad woman. She showed more leg   
than he'd care for, anyway.   
"You did this to her," he pointed at the   
still, battered figure of Usagi. He snarled,   
lurching toward her, elbow stretched to knock   
the breath from her body. He zeroed in on the   
abdomen, seeing the exposed spot, waiting for   
his attack.   
Split seconds before he was about to   
reach his desired goal, his target disappeared,   
leaving him to jab at mid air. Corona appeared   
elsewhere, watching as Tuxedo Kamen landed with   
the agile grace of a cat on the ground, his   
gloved hand supporting him from falling flat on   
his face.   
Before she was able to bask in her own,   
small victory, wave after wave of lightening   
and fire came her way. They'd underestimated   
her. Corona was far more agile than any of   
them were. She had millennia's worth of   
experience, after all. She dodged every attack   
with lightening speed, not caring to watch as   
the attacks exploded into firework displays   
behind her.   
"Pitiful," she sneered, gathering an   
attack of her own in the form of a crackling   
green sphere. Gliding backwards, she rose the   
ball above her head, hurling the energy   
concentration at the group below.   
The force of the blow met the Senshi   
head-on in a catastrophic boom. Screams of   
agony were heard, as Corona watched the battle-  
scarred party rose themselves shakily from the   
ground. Some stumbled forward, only to fall   
once again on the ground.   
"I commend you. You're persistent."   
Corona mused from her reclining position in the   
air. Her sour compliment turned rotten.   
"Frankly, you're annoying me…" She readied   
another fireball in her palms, intending to   
toss them around a bit before finishing them   
off. A sadistic grin creased her thin lips.   
Her train of thought was cut short as a blast   
of cold, impenetrable fog obscured her vision.   
She turned her head frantically from one side   
to the other, as the phrase, "Shabon Spray!"   
echoed in her ears.   
A searing pain tore at her upper right   
arm as another one of those blasted red roses   
sped past, cutting her flesh with its razor   
sharp tip. She touched the wound with her   
other hand gingerly, surveying the damage.   
Blood soaked her fingers, tinting them a   
crimson red. Gritting her teeth in anger, she   
concentrated energy into her palms, ignoring   
the pain in her arm. She hurled it down,   
waiting for the sounds of their demise hit her   
ears.   
  
***  
  
Faint howls of pain reached Usagi's cold   
ears, as she lay unmoving in her spot. They   
sounded familiar…she agreed, still staring   
vacantly upwards at nothing in particular. She   
expressed no emotion as she heard the cries of   
agony, one after the other. Each time, they   
grew weaker, after every successive earth-  
shattering blast.   
Then there was silence…save for the   
strange sound of 'dragging'. She wondered at   
what it could be. The dragging continued,   
always followed by the grunt of a painstaking   
effort.   
One drag…  
Two drags…  
A hand brushed the side of her cheek as   
her head was lifted from the ground to settle   
elsewhere…a place that smelled strongly of   
roses.   
"Usagi," the voice croaked, stroking her   
hair. "Can you hear me?" Deep breaths clung   
to his chest from the still-present battle.   
"Wake up, onegai?" the voice wheedled, much   
like a small child begging.   
She heard none of it. She only smelled   
the roses.   
She felt her head being turned to the   
direction of the sound of the voice.   
"Don't you see me?" Mamoru whispered   
desperately, grasping on whatever energy he had   
left to support her body. He was responded   
with Usagi's empty stare and mute silence.   
"Usagi? Say something? Onegai?" He murmured,   
as if coaxing a child. His voice rose several   
decibels. "Damn you! WAKE UP!" He shook her   
shoulders, attempting to bring a response—any   
response—from the limp blond that gazed   
frighteningly at him with empty eyes.   
Dead eyes…he murmured to himself, the   
guilt washing over him, stronger. High tide,   
he realized.   
"Wake up, princess," Mamoru murmured, not   
quite sure what he was saying. He was out of   
hope, relying on the last thing he had left—his   
heart. "Onegai? For me?"   
An empty silence settled between them as   
none of them uttered so much as a word or   
movement.   
The weakening cries of pain were finally   
heard, reaching Usagi's senses with frightening   
velocity. Her Senshi were dying…she finally   
realized as a breath of clean, fresh air   
entered her lungs. She inhaled deeply once   
more, feeling the flicker of life she had spent   
so long to keep from slipping away grow   
stronger.   
She turned her head—and her gaze at   
Tuxedo Kamen's bent head. His hat had blown   
off sometime during the battle, revealing a   
head of silken, ebony locks to fall in front of   
his mask. She saw him gasp, probably sensing   
her weak movements. For some reason, she knew   
his eyes were wide open behind the mask of his…   
Gently, she raised a battered hand to his   
face, grasping hold of the edge of the   
forbidden mask. He didn't refrain her, nor did   
he shrink away. He simply let her take the   
article off his face.   
The mask fell away in her grasp quietly,   
to be replaced by a pair of cobalt blue eyes.   
Such truth…Usagi thought, matching his   
gaze with equal intensity.   
"I thought I smelled roses," she smiled   
weakly, before falling into a lapse of   
unconsciousness...  
  
***  
  
Corona was having a grand time,   
sadistically torturing these spineless 'Senshi'   
until they were no more. After all, they were   
in liege with the moon princess, which in turn,   
the Moon Kingdom—a place that had massacred her   
homeland of their life source. They had left   
them to starve, with their resources drained   
from their land. She was in the midst of   
kneeing another Senshi as a commanding voice   
echoed from the other end of the void.   
"STOP!" Gyokuren ordered, not feeling as   
strong as he might have sounded. He wasn't   
quite comfortable with unnecessary violence,   
but he would do whatever would be necessary of   
him.   
"What? How did you two get in here?!"   
Corona stared pointedly at both the professor   
and his student. She hesitated before   
finishing off what she had deemed to be a minor   
annoyance, dropping a limp Senshi that was in   
her arms to the floor with a painful 'oomph!'.   
There was something about that voice that   
seemed familiar...  
Quickly, she materialized in front of   
them, as her eyes widened in astonishment.   
Dropping to the ground, she ran toward   
Gyokuren, grasping his face in her palms.   
Looking over his surprised expression, her eyes   
dimmed to a lighter color, hints of gray   
speckled within the depths. She stood, staring   
into Gyokuren's eyes, before whispering a word   
that she hadn't uttered in millennia.   
"Onii-san..."  
  
***  
  
Like? ::shrugs:: Yes, I'm losing it. Did I   
ever have it?  
  
::namida snorts and shakes head::  
  
...anyways, the usual:  
  
Comments? Questions? Flames? Send to:  
tokiya_ensui@yahoo.com  
  
ooh...got an updates mailing list. You visit:  
http://www.geocities.com/mizuno_kagami   
to join...I don't remember what the URL is now,   
since it's merged with another company... the   
box at my site should take you there.  
  
Ja!  
  
mizu-chan   
  
Feb. 10/01   
  
  



	12. Chapter 11 - Family Lost, Family Found

Disclaimer: No own Sailor Moon! Belongs to the   
almighty and wonderful Naoko Takeuchi.   
Fate's Will:  
Chapter 11: Family Lost, Family Found  
"Onii-san…"  
The word rang through his mind, not quite   
grasping the nearly absurd thought. The rapid   
extrapolations he came up with drizzled through   
his mind like honey on porridge, slowly seeping   
into the depths of his soul, his very essence.  
"Who are you?" Gyokuren stammered,   
quivering. He desperately held onto the single   
shred of sanity amidst the chaos raging in his   
confused mind.  
The grayish flicks in Corona's depths   
shifted slightly to a duller color in   
perplexity. Her shoulders dropped in partial   
acknowledgement. Gyokuren didn't remember.  
She let out a deep, shuddering breath,   
containing the fury she had exhibited in the   
wrathful display before. However, the   
disappointment was painfully etched across her   
pale features.   
He'd forgotten...the reality hit her like   
a ten pound brick squarely on the face. It was   
all right, really, she consoled herself. Eons   
of solitude didn't frighten her so much these   
days. Another eon or two wouldn't frighten   
her...no, it would drive her mad. This   
situation had crossed her mind at least once   
during her solitary existence. She had   
accepted these possibilities, for if she had   
not, her only shreds of sanity would become   
non-existent in the empty world of her   
consciousness. However, she'd found out that   
there was no way to extinguish the bitterness   
that had starved her soul and choked her   
compassion out of existence. The two terms   
were nothing but a memory, a figment of her   
long-gone imagination. The difficulty was, she   
was the same in the complex mind of Gyokuren,   
her one time brother.  
Gyokuren, she was sure it was him. The gold-  
gilded curls, the storm-cloud eyes that swirled   
into infinity and beyond, the face of a saint.   
She wouldn't mistake another for her brother.   
She knew when she saw him. Her smoldering eyes   
brightened in recognition.  
She held him by the face gently,   
searching for the family member long lost.   
"Gyokuren, I know you're in there," she   
whispered, looking for the older brother she   
once knew who would gladly shoot down apples   
with his bow and arrow in the bright forests of   
their homeland. Her eyes zoomed in on the blue   
flicks within his eyes, a magnification that   
was invisible to the human eye.  
There, she saw it...tiny little blue flecks   
dancing in a sparkling sea of gray. Each   
seemed that they could be plucked out like   
stars in the vast expanse of the night sky.   
She was still waiting for the dawn to peak out   
in the dimmed horizon.   
Gyokuren blinked in confusion. What was   
this madwoman talking about? He mused,   
thoughts traveling a hundred miles per second,   
challenging even the fastest zephyrs on   
Neptune. Somehow, he managed to keep that   
cool, collected façade plastered on his face.  
Corona took a deep breath, regurgitating   
all the information she had fed Serenity   
earlier. Gyokuren, surprisingly, took this all   
in with a steady attitude, and was neither   
swerved nor surprised by the information that   
seemed to sprout from a fairy tale spun from   
her mind.   
He was her brother all right. Somehow,   
Gyokuren always had the ability to look   
unruffled by things, even things that were   
important as these.   
"Gyokuren, listen to me," she pleaded.   
"I'm your younger sister, Corona..."   
He shook his head, almost...reluctantly.   
"No, I don't know a Corona." He continued in a   
monotone, voice strangely steady. "I don't   
know about any place called Corinithe! I don't   
know about the moon kingdom! I don't know   
anything about having a family!"   
Tears streamed unwillingly down his eyes;   
it was his first time crying in many, many   
years. His teeth were clenched together as he   
sank to his knees, crying like a small child   
who's wracking sobs echoed throughout the void-  
like corridor.   
Corona took hold of his forehead once   
more, keeping him there with a vise-like grip.   
If there was one advantage in being telepathic,   
it was this...  
"I'm sorry it had to come to this," she   
whispered brokenly. Gyokuren, who swore that   
this woman had no feelings, no compassion, no   
respect, saw subtle tears slip quietly down her   
high cheekbones.   
Then the pain started...  
It was as if one was tearing his brain   
apart and inserting all the knowledge that was   
not meant to be absorbed in one day, let alone   
one moment in time. His head felt like it was   
about to burst, but it was nothing like the   
searing heat that tore through the core of his   
existence. Images ravaged his mind, images   
that he could not explain, instances that   
seemed nothing more than a sophisticated,   
computer altered image.   
An image of a small child, who seemed to   
look so much like a smaller version of Corona,   
stood amidst a sparkling green meadow.   
A young man, who looked remarkably akin   
to himself with a bow and arrow clasped in his   
hands during a tourney of some sort.   
There was a green crystal mineral that   
hung around the neck like a pendant on someone   
who looked very regal. Courtiers surrounded   
around the base of the richly decorated throne   
that he sat upon.   
A green star that shone brightly in the   
night sky, standing out among the other white-  
light stars...  
Wait...a green star?   
There, he pinpointed. It was something   
that he recognized today and held onto the   
thought desperately. It was an object in his   
current life, one that he was familiar with and   
one that he knew could trust. That image would   
keep him from teetering over the edge of   
insanity.   
"I'm sorry, Onii-chan, I'm sorry, I'm   
sorry..." He heard Corona whisper over and over   
again, somewhat akin to a breathy a broken   
record. The tears had multiplied, streaming   
freely down her face.   
His little sister...  
"I never meant to make you cry," he said   
quietly, somehow breaking free from her   
entrancing gaze.  
His hands grasped her shoulders, as he   
performed much the same staring ritual as she   
did with him. The tears gathering along the   
corners of her bloodshot eyes halted en route   
to the ground. Then, he uttered the words that   
she longed to hear since the destruction of   
their world and luxurious lifestyle on   
Corinthe;  
"I finally found you, Imouto-chan..."   
  
***  
  
"I thought this would happen," the   
professor reappeared suddenly behind the   
siblings who were currently bound in a tight   
bear hug. The two siblings turned to face the   
professor, who seemed to look more dignified   
than before. Standing behind him were five   
Senshi, and the two heirs of the Lunarian and   
Terran kingdoms in full royal regalia. Not a   
single scratch appeared on their ethereal   
skins.   
Gyokuren's eyebrows furrowed in   
puzzlement. Weren't they hurt the last time he   
saw them? He turned to the professor,   
"Counselor Vega?" The professor nodded gravely   
in reply.  
"Your highness?"   
Corona pointed an accusatory finger at   
the professor, pressing upon his guilt. "You   
knew all along, didn't you?" Her voice raised   
several decibels. She was never known to be   
fond of deception or incompetence.   
Vega/Professor nodded slowly, as if   
rejecting the facts so plainly pointed out to   
him. "Please, upon my honor as a scribe and   
advisor, I promised Queen Serenity that I would   
not interfere."   
"Why?" Corona sputtered outrageously.   
"Why would you do something like THAT? For   
THEM?" The rage which she so desperately   
sought to control began to flare up once again.   
"Corona, they didn't destroy our home,"   
It was Gyokuren who spoke, an odd distant look   
appeared in his eyes, recounting the last   
moments of his past life. "On the contrary,   
the Lunars tried to save us."   
Corona shook her head stubbornly,   
rejecting the fact.   
"Trust me, sister, I was there," he   
soothed, as she sought out any deception in his   
eyes, yet found none. During one fleeting,   
momentary instance, she could read the pain so   
obviously etched across his angelic features.   
He had died nobly on the battlefield...   
Reluctantly, she nodded, still clinging onto the beliefs that fueled   
her seemingly endless rage.  
She seemed to come up with more ideas of   
her own, however. "Why would Queen Serenity   
want you to save me?"   
Vega sighed. "You were beyond saving.   
You were already corrupted by dark power by the   
time I heard the news of our homeland in the   
embassy on the moon. Her majesty recommended   
that you should heal your own wounds, since you   
seemed to be the only one capable of doing so.   
So, instead, I was sent to earth, searching for   
the second reincarnation of your brother. It   
was my duty to make sure he survived and didn't   
get himself into too many scrapes."   
Gyokuren snorted. Obviously, he was   
quite the misbehaved child in his younger   
years.   
"So, I'd lurk around the shadows,   
watching out for Gyokuren."   
When the one-time royal counselor was   
greeted with an empty silence, he commented   
wryly, "Rest assured, Gyokuren kept me busy.   
That boy never stopped getting into scrapes."   
The aforementioned individual blushed, crimson   
spilling over his cheeks.   
"I'm sorry, for any trouble that we may   
have caused you in the past," came Serenity's   
voice, oddly serene. There was no hint of any   
other negative emotion. "We would never   
intentionally harm you." Endymion stood by her   
side, supporting her from falling. Apparently,   
the strange transformation to their alter egos   
had drained her of whatever energy she kept in   
reserve.   
Corona was silent.   
"She's not ready to accept it yet. Give   
her some time, princess," Vega motioned, glassy   
eyes going gray. Solemnly, Serenity nodded,   
golden head bobbing once curtly.   
"We should be on our way," the reigning   
heir of the long lost kingdom of Jupiter   
remarked. Makoto stood, towering above them   
all in her snowy toga clasped with an antique   
brooch. "I don't think we can keep this form   
up any longer." Everyone nodded agreeably,   
parting their own ways for the time being.   
Corona performed her duty, and sent them back   
to the ally where she plucked them from   
earlier, prior to the battle.   
De-transformed, they looked rather   
haggard in their civilian forms. It was as if   
they had dragged themselves through sharp   
debris; the cuts and welts staining their   
clothes.   
"I'm just going to go home," Usagi   
announced for all to hear. "I don't have as   
many blood wounds as the rest of you do. Get   
well soon, ne, minna?" She managed a crooked   
grin before hobbling back to home and   
civilization.   
A hand grasped her arm tightly to support   
her. She paused midway in her tracks. "Let   
go, Mamoru," she whispered brokenly, refusing   
to let the tears escape the confines of her   
eyes. She felt him tighten his grip, intent on   
keeping her with him for the rest of eternity.   
She could sense him gazing at the back of her   
head imploringly.   
She had other plans in mind, however.   
Bowing her head low, she stared at the   
cold, unwelcoming ground with hooded eyes.   
Without a word, she wrenched herself free from   
his grasp and ran out of sight.  
  
***  
  
plot mover. Blech. Mizu no like!!! ::makes   
gagging motions::  
  
Next chapter will be better! (hopefully...)   
Also considering that the next chapter will be   
the last... ::cues in the orchestra:: dun dun   
duuuunnnn... bwahahaha!!!   
Nevermind...  
It'll probably come out later tonight. ^_~  
  
-mizu  
  
April 7/01   
  
  



	13. Chapter 12 - I Dreamed a Dream

Thrown into the arms of destiny, what is one to   
do? Fear it? No, fear brings about terror and   
dread. Despise it? Perhaps one could, if they   
can hold a grudge for a lifetime-or two.   
Embrace it? But embracing contains a mixture   
of both fear of the unknown and the possibility   
of hating the consequences. However, embracing   
always brings about a warm sentiment, something   
to blur the fear and hate, something to ease   
the pain. Embracing destiny would be the most   
difficult of the three choices. It is often   
uncertain, uncanny, and most of all,   
unpredictable. Embrace destiny, for what is   
life without a challenge?   
  
***  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. It   
belongs to Naoko Takeuchi. Title comes from   
the musical, Les Miserables. I don't own that   
either.   
  
AN: BWAHAHA!!! Last chapter! ^_~  
  
Fate's Will:  
Chapter 12: I Dreamed a Dream  
  
***  
  
"Sou...You'll be leaving then?"   
He nodded, the ever-present, handsome   
smile gracing his cheery features.  
Usagi smiled warmly, enclosing Gyokuren   
in a tight hug. "I'll miss you," she   
whispered, liquid crystal tears sliding down   
her cheeks. "I'll keep you in my heart,   
always."   
"Will you, Usagi-chan?" He pretended to   
look surprised. "Ne, lunch time is coming up,   
you might forget," he winked, dodging a playful   
swat. He'd miss her sunshine smiles and her   
friendly, mindless jabber, however, it was his   
sister that needed him most. He had to return,   
and relearn all that was lost in his past life,   
and all that needed to be fixed. He tapped her   
pointed chin with an index finger.   
"Don't get into too many scrapes without   
me," he grinned, as they both heard the   
professor snort from behind.   
"We should go, Gyokuren," the professor   
remarked. "Corona wasn't known for her   
patience in back home." Yes, Corona, he'd   
promised that he'd come back to rebuild their   
once glorious country and what was left of   
their torn family. She was sure she'd find   
some survivors on the way back to their star   
system.   
Reluctantly, she parted with her friend,   
watching him wave once. She returned his wave,   
watching his backside disappear off into the   
distance, sure that she would never hear his   
optimistic banter ever again.  
  
***  
  
"Ne, Usagi-chan? How are you feeling?"   
The friendly, kind atmosphere always drifted   
around Ami and followed her like a storm cloud.   
Except, trade in that cloud for a brightly-  
faced sun.   
Usagi smiled amidst a chocolate sundae.   
She was falling back into her old, happy habits   
again. Ice cream, video games and the   
occasional boy. She was far from her usual   
vivacious, bubbly self, but only time could   
tell if she would ever return to normal.   
Nevertheless, things were looking up, and   
changing for her. She saw the world with a   
different perspective, and felt far more   
compassion for those that didn't even deserve   
it. Oddly enough, her grades never changed   
during the entire ordeal. Fate did have an   
awkward sense of humour.   
"Are you sure?" Ami persisted. At these   
times, Usagi was glad to have friends like Ami.   
They were always concerned for her welfare.   
Whether it was because of their duty as a   
Senshi, she still wasn't quite sure yet. For   
the moment being, the concern seemed sincere   
Things like these take a step at a time,   
she agreed inwardly. So, she would take these   
things a step at a time.   
"Yeah," Usagi answered, lifting her head   
momentarily from the sweet treat. "Thanks for   
asking." She smiled, and it was genuine.   
  
***   
  
She walked past the petunia gardens,   
settling her eyes upon the solitary figure bent   
over underneath an ornate lamppost. He was   
sitting on a park bench, eyes transfixed on one   
of the many roses that dotted the park. It was   
dark, just about an hour before dawn. He was   
suffering from insomnia, and apparently, so was   
she.   
"You called me here?" Usagi asked in a   
soft monotone, clasping her hands at her   
churning stomach. She saw the man jerk his   
head up, indigo eyes oddly bright. He stood up   
impressively, towering over her shorter figure.   
"Hai, I did. I'm glad you came, Usagi,"   
Mamoru semi-stuttered, stuffing his hands in   
his jacket pocket. He caught sight of her   
wrung hands, noting wryly that she was just as   
unnerved with his presence as he was with hers.  
Quiet settled upon them, giving each a   
chance to predict what would occur in the next  
few minutes. The world itself seemed to look   
upon them with hopeful anticipation that their   
feud would end once and for all.   
She summed up the courage to break the   
silence first. "So, how are you these days?"   
She allowed herself to smile, a mild curving   
of the corners of her lips. He seemed to   
relax considerably at her mere gesture and   
casual inquiry.   
"I'm finishing up some midterms. Only  
two left to go."   
The small smile remained on her face,   
"Not working too hard Chiba-san, I hope?"   
He shook his head, the ebony strands   
shaking to and fro in accompaniment to his   
movements. "I'm not losing sleep over my   
exams." He paused, very, very still. "I'm  
losing sleep over other," he cleared his throat  
audibly, "more important things." He gave  
her a glance that should have melted her into  
her socks had she been paying attention to his  
eyes. Her smile wilted along the edges, a   
solemn expression evident upon her face. He  
took note of the expression, but continued   
regardless of it.   
"Usagi, I wanted to say I'm sorry," he   
began, impatient to say all that his heart   
demanded him tell her.   
"For what?" She prompted, calmly, yet   
firmly. "Why would you need to?" A thin smile   
graced her lovely features, easing the tension   
crackling between them.   
He smiled, but his grin was very grim   
with heavy prospects that Usagi couldn't quite   
place her finger upon. "Yes, I do," he said   
wearily. His eyes held a certain sorrow within   
the well-concealed depths, a sorrow that was   
liable to cause even the strongest, monotonous   
individuals to weep. He took a petite palm   
into one of his own, reminiscing about the last   
time he touched her soft, fragile hand. She   
was dying at the time. Yes, dying, and he was   
hardly there for her during the entire ordeal.   
Guilt was an understated emotion that he   
felt in his heart. Much too simplistic and   
obsolete a word was the term, "guilt". No, he   
felt far more emotions than guilt. A tumult of   
feelings that all boiled together in his   
conscience to form the uproar of remorse he   
felt as of that moment.   
He faced her, solemn, "I'm sorry. I'm   
sorrier than words could ever express. I could   
stand here, apologizing until the sun fell off   
its hinges and the stars fell from the sky in a   
violent shower."  
She was lovely, and he did not deserve   
her. The fact was perfectly clear in his mind.   
Yet, he had to try. He was capable, if she'd   
see past his great faults, of making her happy.   
How he knew, it was a mystery even to himself.   
"I do not expect you to accept my apology   
within this lifetime, or the next, or even the   
one after that..."   
She listened to him in mute cordiality,   
but only as much as one expected from a   
stranger.   
"I don't expect you to accept my deepest   
and sincerest wishes for your safety..."  
She stayed silent, hanging upon his words   
and the soft wind toying with her golden   
tendrils. Touched by the dimmed light of the   
rising sun. It began the perilous task of   
chasing away the evils of night and returning   
the stars back into their deep slumber.  
"I do not expect you to believe me in the   
slightest either," he said quietly, bowing his   
head in shame once, almost as if he were   
respecting her as one would with royalty or   
celestial spirits.  
"But please," he looked tired,   
weary...and something that she never saw within   
Chiba Mamoru, or anyone else in her entire   
lifetime; uncertainty.   
"Please," he continued, swallowing once,   
twice. "Accept me. I have more faults than I   
can count, and it would take me millennia to   
record all of them down for you, but please,   
believe me when I say that I love you."  
He gulped, the nearly inaudible sound   
pierced into the quiet dawning. He challenged   
fate and summed up the courage to peer into his   
eyes to satisfy the unyielding curiosity   
bubbling in the pit of his stomach.   
Her expression remained unchanged.   
Admittedly, there was a significant glimmer of   
surprise settled within the soft features. She   
did feel an emotion, and Mamoru was quite sure   
that it would be the first step toward patching   
up the wounds. One by one, he promised himself   
to take upon the duty of placing a bandage over   
every emotional wound he caused, directly and   
indirectly. He would live up to the   
responsibility, and perhaps, just maybe, she   
would learn to love him as much as his heart   
swelled with the love and tender affection he   
held for her. For once, just once, he would   
play the healer, not the destroyer.   
It was she who broke the seemingly   
unending silence first. She turned her head to   
meet his eyes directly, and all the secrets of   
her soul were unlocked for a brief moment, gems   
that were there for his of uncovering. He,   
however, made no movement as he stayed   
transfixed by her gaze.   
Thus, she made the choice for him, and   
revealed her own private thoughts. The next   
words would either mend or shatter his tortured   
conscience and battered soul.   
"I believe you," she murmured quietly.   
She did not miss the growing anticipation that   
she'd just sparked to life. Perhaps those were   
not the right words, she amended to herself,   
yet, she spoke from the heart, and the heart   
never told a lie during its co-existing   
existence with her soul. What was said, was   
done, and what was done, was the truth. It was   
a truth that she could not deny, nor would she   
let herself deny. All forms of conscience   
protested against denial.   
She spotted in his face what she did not   
see during the entire conversation during the   
rendezvous; hope. It was a tiny, tiny thread   
of hope, spreading to his tall cheekbones and   
thick eyelashes curtaining his eyes from   
harmful rays.   
"Does this mean that I still have a   
chance?" He questioned the inevitable,   
clinging on to her answer as if it was life   
itself.   
Her pink lips pursed together. Her   
bottom lip drew toward her teeth as she bit   
upon it in apprehension. Try as she might, she   
could not quell the fluttering sensations   
within her stomach.   
"I said I believed you, didn't I?" She   
noted softly. His face brightened a bit more.   
She shook her head, "But that doesn't mean that   
I could bring myself to love you. Give me..."   
She hesitated, as if swallowing her own bitter   
tears of disappointment, "Give me a reason to   
love you first."   
His face fell, and refused to meet her   
angelic face. To his dismay, he heard her   
swivel around on the cement path and pad slowly   
away into the rising sun. He was left alone in   
the faint glow of a new day and the   
lamentations of mourning doves.   
  
***  
  
::runs into bomb shelter:: Ja ne! ;)   
  
~Mizu  
August 19/2001  
  
Magnolia ~  
http://rain.morninstar-rising.com  
  
  
  



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